ELYRIA, Ohio -- Rocky River clocked a 5-0 win at Elyria Catholic, as the Pirates opened Great Lakes Conference West Division play Wednesday.
The Maroon & White scored two goals in the opening half and three more in the second en route to consecutive victory No. 6. Junior Cara McKenna and sophomore Mackenzie Russell each tallied two goals in the contest.
McKenna scored twice from distance. Her first two goals of the season marked the 10th and 11th of her career.
Russell's twine-finders kept alive a point streak which includes every game of the 2021 season and the final contest of 2020.
Maeve Kelly (goal), Taylor Byall (assist), Lexi Hammermeister (assist), Addie Harris (assist), and Sophia Murray (assist) also got in on the act, as the Pirates stayed on a scoring binge that has seen them score 35 goals over their last six matches.
Solid defense in front of two River goalkeepers (Caitlin Rose-three saves, Maddie O'Malley-four saves) kept the Panthers out of danger areas. And much of River's fourth shutout of the season is owed to the efforts of Chloe Eberlein, Siena Roselli, and Riley Wasserman.
Wednesday's West Division lid-lifter marked Rocky River victory No. 200 for head coach Patrick Hopkins. The 2020 Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association DII Coach of the Year has been the Pirates' bench boss since 2006.
Rocky River (6-1, 1-0 GLC West) is scheduled to host St. Joseph in a non-conference match Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. kickoff).
CANNON FIRE ...
RUSSELL MUSCLE: Mackenzie Russell carded an assist in last fall's DII state semifinal versus Mansfield Madison (Nov. 10). The helper marked her 19th point of the season (four goals, 11 assists). She has scored a point in every match since. Russell has registered 15 points (six goals, three assists) over River's seven matches this season. That stretch includes two-goal games on Wednesday vs. Elyria Catholic and on Aug. 31 at Normandy.
NET GAINS: The 2020 Pirates scored 3.86 goals per game in a season that saw the Double-R go 19-1-2. The 2021 edition of the Detroit Road Buccaneers has averaged 5.43 GPG. That average is a would-be second-best in program history. The 2013 Pirates averaged 5.57 GPG.
by Skip Snow
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