OTTAWA HILLS, Ohio -- Rocky River's season came to an end Monday, with the Pirates losing an overtime
DII Region 5 semifinal game, 8-7, to the Ottawa Hills Green Bears.
Fifth-seeded Ottawa Hills (15-6) climbed out of a 6-4 fourth-frame deficit to force overtime and then win it in the extra session. They now move on to the Region 5 title game. The Bears will face either No. 1 Toledo St. John's or No. 3 Toledo St. Francis on Thursday.
No. 6 Rocky River (8-11) displayed heart and hustle throughout the hard-fought road test. The game included nine ties and lead changes.
The first period belonged to the Pirates. With a pair of goals by Rowan McDougal and one by Ryan Hildebrand, Rocky River jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
The home side battled back with four unanswered goals in the second and went into halftime leading 4-3. Two of the Bears' four goals that quarter were scored in the final 15 seconds of the period.
The Sons of Blackbeard regathered their momentum in the third, getting goals from Mack Massad, Matthew Malloy, and McDougal and shutting out the Bears. River went into the fourth leading 6-4.
The fourth was a 3-for-1 exchange with Ottawa Hills netting the three and sending the contest into overtime. Sophomore attackman Reece Hill scored all three Bears goals in the fourth and had four scores in the game.
Massad's second of the night tied the game at 7-7. That goal -- the junior's 27th of the season -- came at the 4:12-mark. Both defenses held sway the rest of the fourth.
A minute-and-31 seconds into the overtime, Ottawa Hills tallied the game-winner on junior Nat Jun's second goal of the contest.
For the game, River outshot Ottawa Hills 37-30 and put 16 shots on frame to the Bears' 12. The Pirates were a plus-2 in turnovers (14-16). The Bears took 13-of-18 faceoffs, but the two sides finished knotted 24-24 in ground balls.
McDougal's three goals ran his season total to 23. Hildebrand also garnered three points in the game, getting a goal and two assists. Massad's two-goal line was bolstered by seven scoops and three spills. He finishes the season with 146 ground balls, which is believed to be the second-highest single-season total in program history (Andrew Snow: 165 in 2018). Massad scored 10 goals over River's three playoff games.
Massad and his teammates nearly missed out on getting to a fourth playoff game. They did not miss out for a lack of swashbuckling effort.
CANNON FIRE ...
SCOOP-AND-SPILL SEND-OFF: Senior defensemen Kai Delventhal (2 GB, 2 CT Monday) and Robby Lang (1A, 3 GB) closed out their fine senior campaigns with a combined 110 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers.
NOLL HARDWARE: The Northern Ohio Lacrosse League announced its all-league squad on Sunday. Defenseman Robby Lang and junior midfielder Mack Massad were tabbed as First Team all-NOLL performers. Lang finished the 2022 season with 4G, 5A, 67 GB, and 27 CT. Over his career, the three-sport (Golf, Basketball) letterman registered 8G, 6A, 117 GB, and 61 CT.. Massad was the Double-R's top point-scorer in 2022, with 41 points (27G, 14A). He notched a 60.8% (158-of-260) mark on face-offs, which is the program's third best in history. ... Junior midfielder Ryan Hildebrand (28G, 7A) and sophomore attackman Rowan McDougal (23G, 8A) were recognized with honorable mentions. ... Rocky River won the inaugural 2021 NOLL championship; the Pirates went 4-4 across eight circuit games this spring.
by Skip Snow