NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (Sept. 25, 2024) -- River had the field tilt but could not capitalize. On Wednesday, the Pirates registered a slew of offensive looks and did so despite playing nearly half the match a man down. But the Double-R found twine just once, that goal was equaled by the home side and Rocky River and North Olmsted played to a 1-1 draw.

The Pirates (7-2-2, 2-1-2 Cleveland West Conference) got an Eric Gorius goal in the 27th minute. The host Eagles were able to  able to level the affair -- on their only shot of the opening 40 minutes -- before halftime. And the second half was a scoreless exchange that saw River play with 10 -- after a breakaway foul in the 50th minute -- for the final 30 minutes. 

The Gorius netfinder, the junior's fourth of the season, came on a nifty play. Gorius pressured the North Olmsted (5-6-2, 3-0-2) defense, only to have a pass attempt banged right back to him. He regathered and whistled a 10-yarder inside the left post to give the River Raiders the advantage.

Rocky River would go on to outshot the Eagles 6-1 in the first stanza. But the one North Olmsted shot was enough. The Eagles scored in the 36th minute when a well-placed pass off a 30-yard direct free kick found sophomore Sebastian Mastroianni on the doorstep. Mastroianni converted on the tap-in finish.

In the second half, Rocky River outshot North Olmsted 9-2. Any of those 11 efforts could have meant the match, but the goalkeepers on both sides had different ideas. Sophomore Ryan Revay finished with 13 saves for the home side. Junior Matthew Swislocki was credited with four stops for River.

The Wednesday night CWC match marked the final contest of a stretch that had the Sons of Blackbeard playing three straight matches away from home. The Buccaneers return to their home port Saturday for a non-league game against West Geauga (Rocky River Stadium, 7 p.m.).  

by Skip Snow

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