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Apr. 24, 1999:

   BUCCANEERS TOO MUCH FOR PIRATES: Charlotte Country Day defeated Riverside 18-7 in Charlotte on April 24. The Buccaneers scored five straight goals in the first 10 minutes of the game before Eric Poston scored on an assist from Evan Leekley. The first quarter ended with the score 5-1. Country Day scored three more goals to open the second quarter before Bradley Shore scored with 6:24 left in the half. Country Day scored two more before the half, making the score 10-2. The Bucs opened the second half as strongly as the first, scoring seven goals in the third quarter to Riverside's none. Riverside scored five goals in the final quarter to Country Day's one. Adam Whitfield scored on an assist from Jon Ham with 11:01 left in the final stanza, Steve Knopp scored after an over-the-goal assist from Evan Leekley at 5:48, Bradley Shore scored unassisted on a rifle shot from 10 yards at 1:22, Jon Ham scored unassisted from five yards with 48 seconds left, and Adam Whitfield scored on an assist from Laurence Tilley with a half second left on the clock.

Apr. 22, 1999:

   PIRATES DEFEAT CHAPEL HILL 9-2: The Pirates played possibly their best game of the season on April 22 to defeat rival Chapel Hill 9-2. Evan Leekley to Eric Poston proved the bane of the Tigers as the tandem combined for scores four times in the first half.

The Pirates started off slowly, dropping balls and seeming tentative on offense. The Tigers scored first at 7:27 of the first quarter as Brandon Ashworth fed T.J. Tynan for a score. For five minutes following that first score the teams traded possessions but neither could put the ball in the net. Then, at 2:00 of the first quarter, came the first of the Leekley-to-Poston goals. The two combined again 20 seconds later, and the first quarter ended with Riverside up 2-1, hardly a comfortable lead against the many-time state public-school champion Tigers.

Riverside opened the second quarter with a score by Leekley on an assist from Jon Ham at 8:58, and, four minutes later, Leekley assisted on another Poston score at 4:49. With 1:16 left in the first half, Leekely again assisted to Poston for a score to make it 5-1 at the end of the half.

In the second half, Poston scored again at 7:39 of the first quarter on a feed from Nic Tyndall. At 5:06, Bradley Shore assisted on a goal by Adam Whitfield. Chapel Hill's top scorer, midfielder Joe Hubbard, who was stymied all night by the tenacious defense of defensive middie Matt Carpenter, finally got on the board at 4:51 on an unassisted goal. A goal by Riverside freshman Chris Feifs, who scooped a dropped ball from in front of the Chapel Hill net, made the score 8-2 at the end of the third quarter.

In the final period, Riverside's man-down defense came up big twice, holding the Tigers scoreless on extra-man opportunities. The Pirates played possession ball for the remaining minutes, with Adam Whitfield scoring the final goal with 3:48 remaining in the game.

Riverside's defense played its best game of the season. Midfielders Shore, Tyndall and Ham, and long-pole defensemen Tom Raspet, Brendan Griffin and Marc Tillett picked up ground balls, caused loose balls and pressured the Tigers relentlessly. Goalie James Zawadowski was strong in goal, demoralizing the Tigers with his many saves and pinpoint outlet passes.

Apr. 9, 1999:

   PIRATES DOWN CAPE HENRY, NORFOLK COLLEGIATE: Riverside won both games it played on its 1999 Northern Exposure Tour, defeating Cape Henry Collegiate 10-9 [Box Score] and Norfolk Collegiate 18-6 [Box Score]. The Pirates' tour got off to a rocky start on April 7 at Cape Henry when they found themselves down 1-6 after the first quarter. But a five-goal run tied the game by the half. Then Cape Henry ran off another three goals to make it 9-6 at the end of the third quarter. But goals by Eric Poston, Laurence Tilley and Bradley Shore made it 9-9 with 1:13 remaining. A tip-in by Eric Poston one minute into sudden-death overtime won the game for the Pirates. On April 8 it was an easier time for the Pirates. They dominated the Norfolk Collegiate Oaks and won going away by a score of 18-6.

Mar. 30, 1999:

   PIRATES DEFEAT RAVENSCROFT: The Pirates defeated Ravenscroft 15-4 in Raleigh on March 30. Evan Leekley and Eric Poston each had five goals, Bradley Shore had four and Jon Ham had one. Riverside jumped to an 8-0 lead before Ravenscroft managed a score at 5:24 of the second quarter. Two more goals by Poston on assists from Leekley and Adam Whitfield made it 10-1 at the half. Ravenscroft scored two quick goals in the third period, but that was all they managed until they scored with 24 seconds remaining in the game. Three second-half goals by Leekley, one by Poston and one by Ham closed out the scoring for Riverside. The Pirates' record is now 5-2. [Box Score]


Mar. 29, 1999:

   PIRATES DEFEAT ECHHS: Riverside defeated the East Chapel Hill Wildcats 11-7 on Monday, March 29. Bradley Shore had six goals, Evan Leekley added four and Jon Ham added one. Shore scored three goals in the first five minutes of the game, two of those during a three-minute, non-releaseable penalty assessed to ECHHS because of an incorrectly marked field. Leekley added three before the half, and Shore added two more before the break as the Pirates held an 8-3 lead at halftime. The Pirates managed three goals in the second half, one each by Leekley, Shore and Ham. East Chapel Hill outscored the Pirates in the second half 4-3 to make the final score 11-7. The win improves the Pirates' record to 4-2. [Box Score]


Mar. 28, 1999:

   INDIVIDUAL ROSTER & GAME PHOTOS POSTED: The game photos from the Nansemond-Suffolk game and the Durham Academy game have been posted. Also, the individual roster photos have been posted. Sixteen players were absent the day the photos were taken and all efforts will be made to add them soon.
   ECHHS GAME IS MONDAY, MARCH 29: The game against East Chapel Hill High School, originally set for March 26, is set for Monday, March 29, at 7 p.m. at ECHHS. That means we'll all have to hurry back to see the national championship game between Duke and UConn. Drive carefully.
   ANNAPOLIS CHRISTIAN WINS; PICNIC A SUCCESS: After three straight losses to the Pirates, Annapolis Area Christian School got revenge in good measure by defeating Riverside 19-6 on March 27 at Riverside. Following the game, Riverside lacrosse parents hosted a picnic (indoors due to the chilly weather) for the visiting players and coaches. The meal was a great success, thanks to all the parents who participated and to Barbara Knopp, who organized the event.

Mar. 20, 1999:

   PIRATES LOSE TO DURHAM ACADEMY: The 0-4 Durham Academy Cavaliers were hungry for a win on March 19 and they got it in a battle of the state's defending champions. After losing four straight games to Maryland prep powerhouses, DA cruised to a 13-3 win over the Pirates. The game began on a high note as RHS won the face-off, held the ball for nearly four minutes and got a goal by Bradley Shore. But then DA ran off five straight goals in the first quarter to make it 5-1. Two more goals in the second period made it 7-1 at the halftime break. DA got two more goals in the third quarter before Eric Poston added one for Riverside on a Nic Tyndall assist to make it 9-2. DA added four more goals in the game to make it 13-2 as the clock was winding down. Bradley Shore, however, added another RHS goal as the gun sounded to make the final score 13-3. The Pirates' next game is on Friday, March 26, at East Chapel Hill.

Mar. 17, 1999:

   PIRATES DOWN RAVENSCROFT: Ravenscroft's "wearin' of the green" on St. Patrick's day didn't bring them any luck of the Irish tonight as Riverside defeated the visitors from Raleigh by a score of 10-1. Senior attackman Evan Leekley led all scorers with five goals and the Pirate defense bottled up the visitors all evening. Leekley scored unassisted goals at 9:23, 7:17 and 4:50 of the first quarter, and then again at 5:34 of the second quarter for the Pirates' first four goals. Goals by senior attackman Eric Poston and junior midfielder Jon Ham (unassisted) late in the second period made it 6-0 at the half. Leekley scored again at 6:08 of the third quarter on an assist from Ham, and at 3:52 of the third period junior attackman Adam Whitfield scored on an assist from Leekley to make it 8-0. Ravenscroft managed a goal with 3:30 left in the third quarter, making the score 8-1 as the final period began. Ham added an unassisted goal at 5:54 of the fourth quarter, and freshman midfielder Chris Feifs added another with 45 seconds remaining to make the score 10-1 as the gun sounded. The Pirates next play Durham Academy on Friday at 4:15 p.m. on the DA field.

Mar. 12, 1999:

   TEAM PHOTOS HAVE BEEN TAKEN: The team photo was taken on March 11 before practice. That photo has been put on the Web site already [Click here]. Also, individual head shots were taken on March 11 and should be posted on the site by this weekend. Some players were not there and every effort will be made to get photos taken of them in the next week or so.

Mar. 9, 1999:

   POWERHOUSES ON DISPLAY: Durham Academy opens its season with games against four of the nation's best high school lacrosse programs. On March 11 at 3:30 p.m. at DA, the Cavaliers play Severn School (ranked third in Maryland), on March 13 at 9 a.m. on Duke's turf field they play McDonough School (ranked first in Maryland), on March 14 at 11 a.m. also at Duke they play Gilman School (sixth-ranked in Maryland) at 11 a.m., and on March 17 at DA at 4:15 p.m. they play Boys Latin (ranked fourth in Maryland). It doesn't get any better than this, folks.

Mar. 5, 1999:

   HOGGARD GAME CANCELLED: The game with Wilmington Hoggard, which was recently changed from Mar. 12 to Mar. 13, has now been cancelled altogether due to a problem with playing at RHS on Saturday.
   POT LUCK PICNIC: The traditional pot luck picnic will be held this year after the Annapolis Christian game on March 27. The players and coaches of Annapolis Christian will have driven from Wilmington that morning before playing the Pirates, and they will be invited to join us before heading all the way back to Maryland that evening. Barbara Knopp (383-0492) is coordinating things so that we don't have 45 green bean and french-fried onion casseroles. Just give her a call.
   TEAM PHOTOS TO BE TAKEN: The full team photo for the game program and the individual player photos for the Web page will be taken next week on Tuesday or Wednesday (check with coach for which day). All players are urged to be there so their images can be preserved for posterity.

Feb. 25, 1999:

   CHANGES MADE TO GAME SCHEDULE: Several changes have been made to the game schedule for 1999. The Wilmington Hoggard game will be played at RHS at 6 p.m. Sat., March 13, instead of Friday, March 12. Also, a varsity and a jayvee game have been added to the schedule. RHS will play Ravnenscroft at RHS at 6 p.m. on March 17, and the jayvees will play Chapel Hill at 5 p.m. on April 13 at RHS before the varsity game against Southeast Raleigh.
   N.C. PREP LACROSSE TO GROW IN 2000: At least three public high schools will add boys' lacrosse as a varsity sport next season, and it's possible yet another will join them. All three Wilmington high schools -- Hoggard, Laney and New Hanover -- will add varsity lacrosse for the 2000 season, and Southeast Raleigh is considering the move for next year, too. On the downside, Orange has lost its lacrosse coach and that program is up in the air.

Feb. 20, 1999:

   RHS LACROSSE BOOSTER MEETING MARCH 4: The next meeting of the Riverside Lacrosse Booster Club is 7 p.m. March 4 in the cafeteria at the high school.

Feb. 7, 1999:

   GET SPORTSMANSHIP FORMS IN: Every player and parent must fill out a form promising to show good sportsmanship this year during all games, home and away. These forms must be completed by players and parents, says the N.C. High School Athletic Association. Forms can be obtained from Coach Jim Kirkley.

   SPRING BREAK DEPOSITS DUE: Deposits of $75 are due by March 1 so that plans for bus and hotel accommocations may be made for the Virginia Beach trip. The balance is due on March 31. Approximate cost for each player is $150, which includes hotel, transportation and one sumptuous dinner at a local eatery.

   NEXT LACROSSE PARENTS MEETING: The next meeting of lacrosse parents will be on Thursday, March 4, 1999, at 7 p.m. in the RHS cafeteria.

Nov. 27, 1998:

   NEW WEB PAGE MAKES DEBUT: The 1998 season home page was taken off the Web this week and the 1999 season home page made its debut. The new page has been redesigned for the coming year, with several new features added, such as the booster club fundraiser page, a links page featuring the best lacrosse Web sites, and links to colleges and universities where former Pirates are playing.

   1998 SEASON ON CD-ROM: If enough Pirate fans and parents are interested, we hope to have the full 1998 championship season Web site available for purchase on CD-ROM for $12. The CD-ROM would contain all photographs, box scores, statistics and records for the 1998 season, a valuable archive for any Pirate lacrosse fan or parent. Proceeds from the sale of any CDs will go to the Riverside Lacrosse Booster Club. If you wish to order a copy of the CD-ROM "A Championship Season", please e-mail Jon Ham at rivlax@mindspring.com so we can judge the demand.

   1999 PHOTOS FOR SALE: Also, all photographs that will be on the 1999 season Web page will be available for sale, with proceeds going to the Riverside lacrosse fund. More details later.