AVON, Ohio (April 30, 2024) -- In Tuesday-night Northern Ohio Lacrosse League action, Rocky River nearly pulled off a tremendous comeback win. But the host Avon Eagles leveraged a better start to the game and a final-seconds goal to pull out a 7-6 victory.

Rocky River (10-4, 4-2 NOLL) found itself down 3-1 at halftime and 5-2 heading into the fourth quarter. In the fourth, two quick goals for the Pirates -- an extra-man 15-yarder by Rowan McDougal at 11:25 and a 10-yarder by Michael Bebie at 10:31 -- made things interesting. Five-and-a-half minutes and two Gordon Hudson saves later, the Sons of Blackbeard tied the game at 5-5 on a man-down, coast-to-coast, transition goal by McDougal (assisted by defenseman Cohen Blair).

Avon (11-1, 5-1) countered when junior Jackson Brokaw planted his second goal of the game at the 3:05-mark. The lacrosse leapfrog continued 90 seconds later when McDougal netted his fourth of the night, finding lower-left twine off a feed from Andrew Lang. That goal came at 1:48. 

A hundred-and-two seconds later, the Eagles sealed their eighth straight win with Brokaw's third goal of the evening.

For the game, the Pirates outshot the Eagles 39-28 (18-16 in shots on frame), in part due to being man-up seven times in the contest. River did manage three extra-man goals, but the Pirates came up empty in each of three such situations over the final eight minutes.

Rocky River's scorers were McDougal (four goals, one assist), Bebie (1G), and Dominic Ricketti (1G). Lang filed two assists.

McDougal and Lang also registered four ground balls each. Leaders in the scoop-and-spill efforts were Blair (four ground balls, four caused turnovers), Bebie (3 GB, 2 CT), and William Sawyer (6 GB, 1 CT).

Hudson ledgered nine saves.

With the setback, the Maroon & White have lost two in a row and three of their last four. The Pirates have now lost three games this spring -- two in NOLL play -- by one-goal margins.

Rocky River will play its fifth consecutive road game Thursday when the Pirates visit University School. The Pirate-Prepper clash represents a Buckeye State top-10 match-up: LaxNumbers pegs River as the DII No. 8 and US as the DII No. 3.

by Skip Snow

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