ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Rocky River paid off its short bus ride with its first victory of the season Saturday. The Pirates scored a second-minute goal and never looked back, as they defeated the Lutheran West Longhorns, 4-0.

Senior Hogan Kern scored that first River goal. It would be all the Pirates would need in a match that saw them credited with 16 shots to just a few for the home side. Rocky River would score two more goals before halftime (Gold Rrustemaj, Nathyn Marius). Ali Aldarraji closed out the scoring with the lone netfinder of the second half, a 2-on-1 breakaway in the 77th minute.

Assists were registered by Marius, Kern, Aldarraji, Christopher Saade, and Noah Nagy. Will DeClerck posted three saves and has now stopped 8-of-8 shots on the young season.

For Rocky River (1-0-1), the contest marked the second of four straight on the road to start the season. That stretch is slated to continue Wednesday when River travels to Buckeye for a 7 p.m. tilt. The match between the Pirates and Bucks will mark the Great Lakes Conference opener for both teams.


CANNON FIRE ...

THE DOUBLE-R BRAND: Since playing Lutheran West to a 2-2 draw on Sept. 26, 2019, the Pirates are 3-0 against the Longhorns. River has outscored Lutheran, 17-0, over those three wins. ... Dating back to last fall, the Double-R is 3-0-1 and unscored upon over its last four regular season road games.

YOUNG BUCS: The Pirate JV earned its first victory of the season, as Rocky River defeated Lutheran West, 1-0. Freshman Gabe Schroth scored the Pirates' lone goal.


by Skip Snow

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