ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Aug. 24, 2024) -- Rocky River edged Olmsted Falls 2-1 in a hard-fought contest Saturday.
After a first-half first goal scored by senior Sophia Sindelar and a Bulldogs answer in the 47th minute, it was returning two-year letterwinner Grace Quaiser finding twine off a Sindelar miss for the eventual game-winner. River would outshoot Olmsted Falls 20-10 for the game, but senior goalkeeper Caitlin Rose was called on to make three stops over the final two minutes to preserve the one-goal triumph in what marked the season opener for the Checkered Buccaneers.
Sindelar -- River's leading scorer a year ago when the Pirates went 23-1, won a Great Lakes Conference West Division title, and finished as DII state runner-up -- netted the 105th goal of her career when she nodded home a well-placed Mia Carney corner kick in the 14th minute. Sindelar was in on nearly every set of touches that resulted in pressure on the Olmsted Falls defense. That pressure resulted in a flurry of River shots in the early minutes.
The Pirates' first shot of the season was a fourth-minute Sindelar whistler that banged off the crossbar and caromed over the goal. Over the first 15 minutes of play, Rocky River (1-0) worked its way to five corners and seven shots. Bulldog 'keeper Olivia Pletcher registered a grade-A save in the 10th minute; Pletcher made two key stops in the opening half and had six saves for the game.
The early-game Buccaneer surge resulted in serious field tilt, and Olmsted Falls didn't string together back-to-back touches on the River side of the midfield stripe until the 16th minute of action. The Bulldogs wouldn't loose their first shot until the 30th minute.
Despite a pushback by the visitors over the last 10 minutes of the first half, Rocky River went into halftime leading 1-0. The bark and bite of the Bulldogs would continue into the second.
An impressive Olmsted Falls push resulted in the Bulldogs logging five of the first seven shots of the second half. The middle of those five efforts dented nylon and tied the match 1-1. That goal, a lofted 35-yarder by junior Adriana DeAngelis, came in the 47th minute.
The Maroon & White countered with a series of pressures some five or six minutes later. The Pirates would out-chance the Bulldogs the rest of the way. And, thanks to the Quaiser goal, would outscore Olmsted Falls by the slimmest of margins the rest of the way.
For the game, Rocky River put eight shots on goal to the Bulldogs' five. Rose tallied four stops on the afternoon. She was unbothered over long stretches due to fine defensive work turned in by seniors Charlotte Dean, Lexi Hammermeister, and Rori Vesy. That trio was in on a slew of takeaways and reversals, diffusing Bulldog possessions in River territory.
After going winless (0-3-1) over four straight openers from 2018-21, the Checkered Buccaneers have now won three straight lid-lifters.
The Pirates are now slated to play two on the road before they get back home again. River will be at Avon Lake Monday. They will then open play in the new Cleveland West Conference with a Wednesday contest at Westlake. The team's next home date is slated for Sept. 4 (vs. CWC foe Valley Forge).
by Skip Snow
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