COSHOCTON, Ohio (Nov. 2, 2024) -- Now into November, and still undefeated. The Rocky River Pirates have flipped the calendar, but the kicks just keep on coming. And on Saturday afternoon at Stewart Field in Coshocton, the Pirates kicked, ran, headed, attacked, and defended their way past the New Concord John Glenn Little Muskies 9-1 to earn a region crown for a second straight autumn.

Despite numerous shots being parried away by junior goalkeeper Faith Lemon, Rocky River (21-0-1) got multiple goals from Addie Russell (two), Grace Quaiser (two), and Sophia Sindelar (four) in a contest that had the field on tilt throughout. River clocked an 8-1 edge in corner kicks; it scored four unanswered goals in the first half and five goals in the second. And the DIII Region 11 title match was against a John Glenn (14-6-1) squad that had yielded just one goal across four previous playoff games.

Saturday's game ended on Eleanor Remias' second goal of the season. The Remias netfinder came in the 71st minute and put the contest in margin-of-eight, mercy-rule territory. The Pirates have now had four such games in these playoffs (in five games, RRHS has outscored opponents 40-6).

Sindelar's first tally against the Little Muskies figured as her 60th goal of the season, which is a mark that sets a new single-season program record for scoring. The previous record of 59G was set by Sindelar herself last season. The senior sensation has logged three-plus goals in nine consecutive games, and she has filed four-plus goals in a match six times this season and 14 times in her career. For good measure, Sindelar also registered three assists on Saturday, and she is now within range of 300 points for her career. She'll head into River's next match with 294P (167G, 60A).

And that next match will be a titanic one. It will have the Pirates taking on the rival Bay Rockets, who blanked Avon Lake 8-0 Saturday to earn the DIII Region 9 title.

The River-Bay state final-four contest will put some daylight between the programs where not yet exists. The Pirates and Rockets (20-0-2) played to a 1-1 draw in their regular-season meeting, which was in Bay Village on Sept. 11.  

The spoils of that first game included a pathway to earning Cleveland West Conference laurels. In this next match, its Buckeye State glory on the line: the victor will move on to play in the Nov. 9 DIII state championship match.

In this one, the Pirates and Rockets will clank swords and exchange cannon fire Tuesday at Nordonia High School's Boliantz Field. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

FROM THE BUCS SCORE: Nine players ledgered points in Saturday's region final. In addition to Russell, Quaiser (1A also), Remias, and Sindelar (3A) scoring goals, the Pirates got assists from Lexi Hammermeister, Ellie Holton, Teagan Hopkins, Piper Tovissi, and Rori Vesy. ... Sophia Sindelar is also RRHS's new single-season record holder for points. Her 153P this season surpasses the mark of 137P she set last fall. ... The Pirates of the last 15 months have lost one match. The Double-R was undone 1-0 by Cincinnati Summit Country Day in the 2023 DII Buckeye State title game. Aside from that setback, River has gone a combined 44-0-1, outscoring foes 179-30, since last August.

TITLE TOWN: With Saturday's conquest over John Glenn, Rocky River Girls Soccer earned its fifth region title. Four of those crowns have been won in the last five years. Overall, the program has now won eight district and five region titles. The Pirates also won a state championship (DII) in 2013. 

PIRATES & ROCKETS, TAKE 2: Rocky River and Bay are meeting in a state semifinal for a second time in as many years. Last autumn in DII play, the Pirates ousted the Rockets in a penalty shootout after 110 minutes of 1-1 soccer (Nov. 7, 2023). So, the rivalry's last 190 minutes have been comprised of two goals a side. River and Bay have met 14 times since 2013, and half of those games have been decided by one goal or less. The Buccaneers' record vs. the Rockets over that span is 6-5-3. 

by Skip Snow

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