ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Rocky River opened its 2021 season with a 10-6 victory over Toledo St. Ursula on Saturday. The Pirates got a lift on midfield draws, outshot their visitors by a near-2-to-1 margin, and were sharp in forcing turnovers in getting head coach Colleen Hile her first career victory.
Senior attacker Allison Kysela scored four goals and sophomore attacker Olivia Konopka added three -- the first three of her prep career -- as the Striped Buccaneers broke free from a first-half deficit to earn the hard-fought victory on home turf. Through the first 16 minutes-and-change, and in what marked River's first game in 668 days after last season was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pirates and Arrows were embroiled in a defensive struggle. The Detroit Road Buccaneers had found twine on just one of their first eight shots, and when St. Ursula's Paiton Russell scored at the 8:41 mark, River found itself down 2-1.
Hile -- coaching her first game -- called a time out to right the Pirate ship and put the home side on the attack.
"The girls refocused and really came to play on the offensive side of the field," said Hile. "Allie [Kysela] had that wonderful knock down during the ride that turned into a goal. I thought that changed the whole tone of the offense."
That Kysela goal -- on a theft in front of the St. Ursula cage -- was the middle of three goals scored in quick succession after the Pirate timeout. When the senior attacker scored again -- on a Blair Willse assist at the 6:59-mark -- River had itself a 4-2 lead.
The Pirates led, 4-3, at the break. The two sides exchanged goals over the first two minutes of the second half. But then an Ella Nejad goal at 19:07 of the second gave the Maroon & White a two-goal cushion. The Arrows (0-2) got within one (6-5) at the 11:15-mark, but the Pirates countered with Kysela's fourth of the game less than two minutes later. That score was the first of four in a row for Rocky River (1-0), which for the game outshot St. Ursula, 25-13.
The Arrows put nine shots on frame; senior goalkeeper Evie Kelley recorded three saves for Rocky River. Junior 'keeper Sydney Skala logged nine saves for the visitors.
Ground balls were a near-even exchange in what was an entertaining and well-played season opener. The Pirates did, however, manage a tidy edge in the always-important trade-off in turnovers. The Double-R committed 21 miscues while forcing 26. Senior midfielder Grace Harte, senior defender Sarah Farling, and junior defender Madeline Lundin were especially adept in spilling Arrow possessions and tracking down ground balls.
The other facet of the game the Pirates leveraged centered around, ... well, the center of the field. With Nejad taking each of 18 draws, the Pirates went 14-4 in the midfield scrambles for possession. The River junior was also sharp around the Arrow cage; she had two goals on the afternoon. Both came on free-position shots. Maya Patti also scored a free-position goal for the Pirates. The tally marked the first of her career.
Olivia Konopka scored all three of her goals on wraparound moves, darting around to the front of the goal and denting nylon after quick releases.
But it's Kysela who is River's most accomplished returning scorer in this season after a one-year hiatus. The senior's fourth goal Saturday marked the 35th of her career. Coincidentally, Kysela also netted four scores in the Pirates' last season opener, which was a 13-11 win at Brunswick on March 16, 2019.
"Allie, Olivia, and Ella really had some nice shots to get us back on track today," said Hile.
As it went for high school lacrosse in the Buckeye State, count the third Saturday in March, 2021, as a whole sport getting back on track.
CANNON FIRE ...
YOUNG BUCS: In junior varsity action, Rocky River defeated St. Ursula, 12-1. River's top scorers were Kaitlyn Byrne (five goals), Lilli Roselli (two), and Reagan Connelly (two).
EARLY HONORS: The Double-R coaches select a Player of the Game for each contest. Grace Harte was tabbed for that award on Saturday. ... Rocky River's captains for the 2021 season are Sarah Farling, Allison Kysela, Ella Nejad and Blair Willse.
ON DECK: Rocky River's next game is slated for Tuesday evening when the Pirates visit the Avon Eagles. That contest will mark the opening of play in a new lacrosse-only conference, the Northern Ohio Lacrosse League. River is competing as a member of that circuit in both Girls' and Boys' Lacrosse.
by Skip Snow
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