ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (May 17, 2023) -- The Pirates opened
DII Region 5 Tournament play with a 22-2 victory against an overmatched Toledo St. Ursula team Wednesday.
Seven players scored three points or more in a game the Double-R led wire-to-wire while outshooting their visitors 44-4. Junior attacker Alexis Tisler logged a five-point game (three goals, two assists) while collecting two scoops and two spills. Her fifth and final point -- a late-game goal on a feed from Lucy Kolonick -- marked the 100th point of her career.
It was a senior attacker hitting an even bigger milestone eaelier in the game. At the 22:11-mark of the first half, Olivia Konopka planted a goal -- her second of the evening -- on an assist from Reagan Connelly. The goal marked Konopka's 200th career point.
Konopka finished with two goals and an assist. Also filing three-point games Wednesday were Kaitlyn Byrne (2G, 1A), Grace DeWitt (3G), Kolonick (2G, 1A), and Daisy Thompson (2G, 1A). Elle Mocho had a four-goal night with three ground balls.
Byrne added three ground balls and a program single-game-record 11 draw controls (the previous record of 10 was hit by Ella Nejad three times).
Byrne, DeWitt, and Konopka all hit the 50-point mark for the season. The Pirates now have four such players (Tisler: 37-18--55 leads the way) on the 2023 stat sheet.
Rocky River (14-3) won 25-of-34 (73.5%) ground balls and was a plus-10 in turnover margin (6, 16).
The Striped Buccaneers -- the No. 1 seed in Region 5 -- will host No. 5 Westlake Saturday at noon.
by Skip Snow
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