ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (April 11, 2024) -- An inspired and spirited performance resulted in a big Rocky River win over a talented Wooster team Thursday. Battling back from the visiting Generals scoring three straight goals over the second and third periods, the Pirates gutted their way to a 4-1 advantage the rest of the way, and the Maroon & White earned a hard-fought 7-6 victory.
Dominic Ricketti, Joe Smith, Rowan McDougal, and Andrew Lang scored the big goals late as the Sons of Blackbeard dealt Wooster its first loss of the 2024 season. Lang's goal -- at 3:01 0f the fourth quarter -- came after 10 1/2 minutes of thrilling 6-6 lacrosse. It was the senior captain's second of the night and his fourth point of the non-conference tilt.
When the Generals (5-1) scored on a Liam Harwood assist at 7:07 of the third, the visitors held a 6-4 lead. A once-again stingy River defense would allow just three more shots the rest of the game. None were on target.
The Pirates (7-1) leveled the score at 6-6 with third-quarter twine-finders by Smith and McDougal. McDougal's goal -- the senior captain's 16th of the season -- marked the eighth tie/lead change of the game. That stat would be updated just once more the rest of the night.
McDougal assisted on Lang's game-winner some 10 minutes later. Then it was up to the shutdown Buccaneer defense -- a group yielding just 3.4 goals per game -- to get the Maroon & White to the finish line.
The River defense did just that, up to and including a final transition opportunity for the Generals in the waning seconds. Those final seconds were a scramble for the Rocky River defense. Things were unscrambled deftly with a monster stand by Trent Delventhal and a takeaway by fellow defenseman Cohen Blair, who finished the night with three scoops and two spills.
The Double-R outshot Wooster 34-13 for the game. In shots on frame, River maintained a 14-6 edge. With the Pirates going 13-of-14 on clears, Rocky River finished as a plus-11 in turnovers (10-21). Wooster made noise on faceoffs, going 14-3, but a staunch Pirate defense helped negate that advantage, and the Generals filed several early-possession turnovers on errant passes.
Ben Bogre (five ground balls, three caused turnovers) and William Sawyer (3 GB, 4 CT) ledgered impactful field numbers.
Lang's four-point game vaulted his season total to 25 points (18G, 7A), tops on the team.
Harwood had three points (2G, 1A) to lead Wooster.
"Tonight was a significant test for us," said coach Griffin Vehar, whose Pirates have authored five straight conquests since falling 3-2 at Brunswick on March 23. "Our guys -- all of them -- showed perseverance and grit all night, and it led to a huge team win."
That huge team win came in the front half of what is a two-day double for the Sons of Blackbeard. Rocky River will host Ottawa Hills Friday at 6 p.m.
by Skip Snow
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