ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- The Pirates opened postseason play with a
DII Region 5 Tournament victory over Copley Wednesday. Rocky River (15-2) ball-hawked its way to a plus-7 in turnovers (17-24) despite a bench-emptied, running clock second half, and the Pirates won the game 18-0.
The top seed in the Region 5 brackets and the defending champion of that region scored early and often against the overmatched, 10th-seeded Indians (10-10). River worked its way to a 7-0 lead over the first 10 minutes of play. The Pirates would lead 14-0 by halftime, and the second half was a rainy, running-clock march to a predestined conclusion. Rocky River only yielded two shots on goal for the game; each was stymied -- by Hannah Burgess in the first half and by Acadia Hover in the second -- en route to the Striped Buccaneers earning their fourth shutout victory of the season.
Offensively, the Double-R got four goals and four assists from Ella Nejad, who also gave the Pirates a decided advantage in early-game draws. Nejad stuffed the stat sheet with eight draw controls alongside three ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Olivia Konopka added four goals for the Pirates; Daisy Thompson and Kaitlyn Byrne tallied two each. Byrne's second goal marked the 50th of her career. Rocky River had 10 players score at least one goal.
Kalyn Scalabrino (three ground balls, two caused turnovers) and Madeline Lundin (3 GB, 1 CT) paced the River defense.
The victory marked the fifth straight for Rocky River. The last four in that stretch have been by double-figure margins, and the Pirates' most recent conquest came over a Copley team that had won seven of its previous eight.
The Pirates now advance to a Saturday noon game -- at home -- against No. 8 Ottawa Hills, which the Pirates hosted in a May 5 regular-season game. River won that game 14-4.
CANNON FIRE ...
DOMINANT ON DETROIT: With Wednesday's win, Rocky River is now 8-0 at home this season. The Pirates have won 19 of their last 20 at their home stadium on Detroit Road.
TWINE FINDERS: River has scored 67 goals over its last four games. The Pirates went into Wednesday's playoff tilt averaging 12.4 goals per game. ... The team's three leading scorers all edged their season point totals into the 60s Wednesday. Ella Nejad (39G-25A--64P) leads the team; she's three points ahead of Olivia Konopka (37G-24A--61P) and Kaitlyn Byrne (47G-14A--61P).
by Skip Snow
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