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White downs Purple 15-12 in alumni duel
Coffman and Gordon led their teams with 5 goals each
Posted at 12:50 a.m., June 27, 2004
Cory Coffman ('03) had five goals to lead the White Team to victory 15-12 in the annual Riverside Lacrosse Alumni Game. Scott Gordon ('98) had five goals for the Purple Team.
The White Team's win avenged a 15-10 loss to the Purple Team in the 2003 annual alumni game.
Also scoring for the White Team were Kevin Raspet ('02) with two goals, Chris Feifs ('02) with two goals, Madison Thompson ('02) with two goals, Laurence Tilley ('01) with two goals, Owen Ham ('03) with one goal and Joe Miller ('03) with one goal.
Others scoring for the Purple Team were Greg Tate ('98) with four goals, Eric Poston ('99) with one goal, Glenn Estacio (former coach) with one goal and Bradley Shore ('99) with one goal.
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End-of-year awards given at picnic
Pietrantoni, Ring, Cherry honored with plaques
Posted at 1:45 p.m., May 26, 2004
Riverside Head Coach Jim Kirkley presented the traditional three season's end awards at the annual Riverside Lacrosse family picnic on May 25. Honored were junior midfielder Joey Pietrantoni as the Offensive MVP, senior goalkeeper Brian Ring as Defensive MVP and senior midfielder Chris Cherry as the Coach's Award winner.
Joey Pietrantoni
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Though Pietrantoni did not rank highest in points production or goals scored this year, Kirkley said, his overall play plus his work as the team's main faceoff middie made him the choice as offensive MVP. Pietrantoni had 21 goals and 9 assist and had a .659 faceoff percentage (176 won and 91 lost).
Brian Ring
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Ring was a natural choice for defensive MVP, Kirkley said, pointing out that the Pirates would have lost many more games this year had Ring not been between the pipes. In his first year as a starter, the senior Ring had 247 saves, which places him second on the list of most saves in a season at Riverside. He had five games in 2004 with more than 20 saves and a save percentage of .638.
Chris Cherry
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Chris Cherry, who started the year as an offensive middie, scoring two goals in the opening game against Mt. Tabor, was switched to defensive short-stick middie in mid-season. Coach Kirkley said he was not keen on the idea, but blossomed into one of the best short-stick defensive middies in the league. His willingness to do whatever the team needed is what won him the 2004 Coach's Award, Kirkley said.
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| Kitrinos named NCHSLA 'Man of the Year'
Posted at 7:05 p.m., May 22, 2004
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| Photo Courtesy of Greg Georges
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Riverside varsity assistant coach and U.S. Lacrosse North Carolina President Pete Kitrinos (on right in photo) was honored at halftime of the state
championship game on May 22 as the NCHSLA Man of the Year.
The award, voted on by NCHSLA coaches, goes to the person deemed to have done more to promote and advance lacrosse in North Carolina during the year. Riverside Coach Jim Kirkley (on left in photo) presented the award to Coach Kitrinos at halftime during the East Chapel Hill-Mt. Tabor championship game. (There is no truth to the rumor that the crowd hurried to put on sunglasses against the glare as this pair took the field.)
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Pirates fall to quick Laney Bucs 9-5
Riverside fell behind 5-0 and couldn't make the comeback
Posted at 5:45 p.m., May 12, 2004
Riverside's Joey Adams and Laney's Kyle Costello go after a loose ball in the first round of the 2004 NCHSLA tournament
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The Riverside Pirates, renowned for slow starts and later comebacks this year, got down too much to the quick Laney Bucs on Tuesday, May 11, 2004, and couldn't make up the difference the rest of the way. The result was a 9-5 loss and the earliest end to a Riverside season since 1996.
Laney served notice quickly -- 8 seconds, to be precise -- that their speed would be a factor. After the opening faceoff Dre Simpson raced downfield through several stick checks and scored at 11:52 to put Laney up 1-0. And, at 9:47, after the Pirates lost the ball at midfield, Kyle Costellow scored unassisted to make it 2-0.
At the 8:33 mark Laney's Glenn Waters would score the first of his five goals, this one on a Costello assist, and at 1:59, after Riverside again lost the ball near their own restraining line, Waters scored again on a pass from Simpson to make it 4-0 as the first period ended. Seven saves by Riverside goalie Brian Ring (he would have 21 on the night) in the first period kept the score from being even more lop-sided.
The second period began much as the first. Waters scored on an assist from D'Andre Ingram to make it 5-0 with 9:51 remaining in the first half. It was the second quarter and time for the Pirates to wake up, which they did, scoring three unanswered to make it 5-3.
Bob Kercher scored the first for Riverside on a drive all the way from the midline at 6:16. Then Tim Woolley scored close in on a feed from T.L. Hutchins. After a time-out to set up a play, Riverside scored again on a drive by Hutchins at 2:01 and the Pirates had pulled to within two goals. An outlet pass straight to Laney's Costello, however, took the Laney lead back to three goals as he scored unassisted with 32 seconds remaining in the half to make it 6-3.
In the third period Riverside switched to a zone after a minute of play and stymied the Bucs, who couldn't figure out what to do against the defense. They hardly took a shot the entire quarter. Problem was, they killed huge chuncks of time passing the ball around. Riverside got the ball back several times but threw it away quickly and allowed Laney to kill even more time.
Meanwhile, Laney goalie Nick Coffey made some key saves late in the period, two on shots by Hutchins and one on a Kercher shot, to keep the Pirates off the board in the third period and keep the score at 6-3.
In the final period Riverside scored at 5:03 when Hutchins assisted on a shot by Joey Pietrantoni to cut the lead to 6-4, but that score was negated at 3:45 when Laney's Waters scored unassisted after a fight for a loose ball to make it 7-4.
Riverside answered at 2:54 when Hutchins scored on a Pietrantoni assist to again cut the lead to two goals, 7-5. But Laney scored at 1:48 on another Waters goal, assisted by Simpson, and again in a man-up with 41.7 remaining when Simpson took the ball the length of the field to score unassisted, making the final score 9-5.
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Lazarus-like Pirates win PAC VI title
Tim Woolley's five goals spur 10-7 win over Falcons
Posted at 11:45 p.m., May 6, 2004
Tim Woolley (1) drives on goal against Jordan in the PAC VI final
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Riverside captains Bryan Thompson, Brian Ring, T.L. Hutchins and Chris Cherry hoist the PAC VI Tournament championship trophy after the game
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Though they were co-regular season champs with Jordan and Chapel Hill coming into the PAC VI tournament in Tuesday, it was anyone's guess how the 7-11 up-and-down Pirates would respond to their latest challenge. No need to guess anymore. After dispatching Chapel Hill 7-6 on Tuesday, the Pirates dismantled Jordan 10-7 on Thursday to take home the PAC VI Tournament Championship trophy.
Pirate fans, players and coaches alike knew that this game would not be the cake-walk the game against Jordan was on April 20, Senior Night. The Pirates shocked a lot of people with their 12-2 win over Jordan that night. It was a cinch that the Falcons would be remembering that game and would be ready.
It seems they were. The Falcons scored first on an unassisted goal by Rob Christensen at the 9:52 mark of the first half. Christensen grabbed a loose ball at one end of the field and went the whole way for the score at the other end. But Riverside tied it at 9:10 when, in a man-up after Jordan's Ben Tucker was called for a slash, Joey Pietrantoni scored on a T.L. Hutchins assist to make it 1-1.
Jack Craig broke the tie on an assist from Will Lewis at 6:19, and the Jordan fans thought they had another one at the 5:35 mark but that goal was waved off for a warding infraction. Riverside was having trouble clearing the ball and were giving the Falcons extra chances. At 3:28 Craig scored again, this time on a Patrick Schultz assist to make it 3-1 Jordan.
Riverside got on the board again at 2:44 when Tim Woolley scored the first of his five goals, this one on a Jay Whitaker assist to make it 3-2. That was followed quickly at 1:27 by an unassisted goal by T.L. Hutchins to tie the game at 3-3 as the first period ended.
As the second period began Riverside again had trouble clearing the ball, and they paid for it at 8:46 as Michael Simel picked up the ball on a busted Riverside clear and went one-on-one with Riverside's goalie, scoring unassisted to put Jordan up 4-3. The errant clearing on that play negated two great saves by Ring that occurred in the minute preceding the score.
The Jordan lead didn't last long, though, as Jay Whitaker scored unassisted on a nifty double dodge to make it 4-4 with 7:06 left in the half. Meanwhile, Ring made five of his seven saves in the quarter over the next five minutes, one of them an in-your-face save on a Simel shot (see it in the photos of this game). He was rewarded at the 3:13 mark when Whitaker scored again unassisted to give Riverside a 5-4 lead at the half.
The Falcons tied the game up quickly as the second half opened. Scot MacIver scored unassisted at 11:06 to make it 5-5. Ring kept it tied at 10:17 when he stopped a Patrick Schultz close-in shot. Then Jordan's goalie Adam Canoy returned the favor at 7:37 when he stuffed a shot by Riverside's Bob Kercher to keep the game tied.
But at 6:05 Tim Woolley made a determined move from behind the cage, dodging two defenders and scoring unassisted to make it 6-5 Riverside. Jordan came right back, however, when Ben Feldman scored on a Schultz assist to tie it again, 6-6. That was followed quickly by a quirky goal by Riverside. Lowell Dyer had taken a pass from outside and shot on goal, but his shot hit the post. It was picked up alertly by Brian Jobe, who dumped it into the net to put the Pirates back up 7-6.
Riverside had a man-up opportunity when Jordan was called for an illegal body check at 1:59, but they couldn't capitalize on it. Riverside's Bob Kercher was hurt on the play and came to the sideline as the period ended.
The final period for Riverside was all Tim Woolley. He scored unassisted on another determined drive at 10:35 to make it 8-6, giving Riverside fans a breather with a 2-goal margin. The Riverside defense was playing some of its best ball of the year, knocking balls loose at will. Middies were getting back and stopping Jordan breaks, and Ring was strong in goal, especially at the 7:15 mark when he made a spectacular save on a Patrick Schultz shot after another busted Riverside clear.
The teams traded possessions for the next three minutes and at 4:06 Ring made a save and passed the ball to Woolley at the other end of the field, who dodged a defender and put the ball into the net to make it 9-6 with 4:06 remaining in the game. With 1:04 remaining Will Lewis got on the board on an unassisted goal to make it 9-7. Another unassisted goal by Tim Woolley with 25.1 seconds remaining made the final 10-7 and gave this edition of the Riverside Pirates a trophy to bring home.
A month ago that would have seemed like a long shot.
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Riverside gets past Chapel Hill 7-6
Down 6-1 at the first half, it was all Pirates in the second
Posted at 11:00 p.m., May 4, 2004
Murray Forbes defends Chapel Hill's Kevin O'Connor in the 2004 PAC-VI tournament
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You just knew it was going to come down to one goal, even when Riverside was down 6-1 at the half and seemingly at the mercy of the high-flying Chapel Hill Tigers. But, after two one-goal contests already this year, neither side of the stadium was figuring it was locked up.
Riverside has gotten off to slow starts a lot this year, and their last contest with Chapel Hill on April 27 was no different. They fell to a 4-1 deficit in the first period and fell just a goal short at the end, 7-6, the same score as this game (cue Twilight Zone music here).
And on April 2 they fell behind 7-4 at the half before coming back and beating the Tigers 12-11 in overtime. So, despite the uninspired play of the Pirates in the first half and the inspired play of the Tigers during that same period, both teams had been known to change character in the late going in earlier games this year. And that's just what happened. Riverside got fired up and Chapel Hill collapsed.
Maybe it was the alignment of the planets, or maybe it was Riverside Coach Jim Kirkley's forceful halftime speech, which wilted the pine boughs at the west end of the Jordan stadium. Or maybe it was the water coolers forcefully displaced by Coach Kirkley's right foot during his talk, but, in either case, Riverside got the message.
Trailing 6-1 as the second half opened, the Pirates went on to score six goals and held Chapel Hill to a goose egg for the next 24 minutes of play. Riverside goalie Brian Ring, named PAC-VI player of the year before the game, had eight of his 16 saves in the second half as he blanked the Tigers, who put up 11 shots in the final two periods.
The only score for Riverside in the first half was at 2:48 of the first period when Joey Pietrantoni scored on a Tim Woolley assist. Meanwhile, the Tigers, playing well and looking dominant, scored six. Chris Ragazzo had two (on assists by Mike Homlish and Kevin O'Connor) in the first quarter, and Nick Desper had an unassisted goal to make it 3-1 after one period. Pat Shannon scored two more for Chapel Hill in the second quarter (one on a Shane Nouri assist and another on an O'Connor assist), and Nouri scored one on an O'Connor assist to make it 6-1 as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Little did the Pirates, or the Chapel Hill fans, know that the Tigers were done for the night.
Even after Coach Kirkley's attitude adjustment at halftime, the Pirates still seemed in the doldrums. At least until the final four minutes of the period. Chapel Hill had thrown the ball away numerous times, giving Riverside chance after chance to score. But the Pirates were making their own mistakes, too. But then, with 3:53 left in the 3rd quarter, Brian Jobe scored on a high hard shot on an assist from Bob Kercher that seemed to electrify the Pirates.
T.L. Hutchins scored unassisted from the left side at 1:25 to make it 6-3, followed by a 30-second pushing penalty on Chapel Hill's Ian Shannon with 14.5 seconds remaining. Riverside held the ball and maintained possession as the fourth quarter opened. The tactic paid off as Jobe scored his second goal, this one on a Hutchins assist, to cut the lead to 6-4 at the 11:51 mark.
At 9:13 Riverside was in another man-up when Bob Kercher scored unassisted from up top to make it 6-5. At 8:59 the Pirates found themselves down after a slashing penalty was called, but they managed to kill the penalty. Then, at the 7:35 mark, just as they had gone back to even, Hutchins scored on a Jay Whitaker assist to tie the score at 6-6.
The Tigers had an opportunity at 5:44 when R.J. Crumpler beat his defender and shot one-on-one on Riversides's goal, but Ring made the save and the outlet pass. As the Pirates were crossing midfield an interference call was made on the Tigers' Alex Elkins and the Tigers were down a man for another 30 seconds at 5:05. At 4:51 Kirkley called a timeout but the Pirates couldn't score in the man-up.
At 3:14 another penalty was called as the Tigers' Brian Hertzberg was called for a slash. The Pirates were moving the ball at the Chapel Hill end of the field when an out-of-bounds call was made at 2:52 that incensed the Tiger faithful. They thought the ball belonged to the Tigers but the officials said a white-shirted player had touched it last. Result: 20 seconds later Tim Woolley scored the winning goal on an assist from Andy Ross.
Pietrantoni won the ensuing faceoff but the Tigers managed to get the ball back a few seconds later. With 1:29 remaining Ring made another save on a Crumpler shot to preserve the lead. At 1:10 the Riverside defense flung the ball the length of the field to get out of trouble and the Tigers got it back. With 54.8 seconds remaining Riverside's Joey Pietrantoni was called for a push and the Tigers had a man-up for 30 seconds.
At 38.8 a Tiger shot went wide of the net, at 27.6 a Tiger shot went high, and at 20.0 a Tiger shot hit the post and was picked up by a Pirate with 15.1 remaining. The Pirates lost the ball, though, and at 10.2 remaining the Tigers had it back. Riverside's Bryan Thompson managed to shake the ball loose from a Tiger and get the ground ball as the clock ran out and another classic Riverside-Chapel Hill game was in the books.
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Grimsley runs over Riverside 9-6
Fired-up Whirlies take advantage of lackluster Pirates
Posted at 4:15 p.m., May 1, 2004
Bob Kercher (7) defended by a Grimsley middie
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The Pirates never could find their stride on Friday, Apr. 30, 2004, against the Grimsley Whirlies in Greensboro, going down three goals in the first half and unable to make up the difference the rest of the way. Brian Jobe had two goals and T.L. Hutchins had a goal and three assists in the contest.
Riverside goalie Ryan Webb, who played in the first quarter, registered three saves. Brian Ring, who played in goal the rest of the way, had 10 saves. Despite a distinct advantage in ground balls (91 to 47), the Pirates couldn't stop the Whirlies, especially attackman Colin Sherwood, who had four goals on the night.
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Riverside falls to Chapel Hill 7-6
Weak first period play dooms Pirates in the rematch
Posted at 10:15 p.m., Apr. 27, 2004
Brian Ring (44) after making one of his 21 saves against Chapel Hill
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Riverside gave up four goals in a shaky first period to the Chapel Hill Tigers on Tuesday, April 27, 2004, and, though they outscored the Tigers the rest of the way, it wasn't enough to erase the first-period deficit as they lost 7-6 to their archrivals.
It could have been a lot worse had Riverside goalie Brian Ring not racked up 21 saves, several of the spectacular kind that Pirate fans are getting used to from Ring. At one point, Ring made three straight saves while Riverside was in a man-down situation with the Pirates down 6-4 at the time.
The Riverside defensemen played well against the Tigers. Bryan Thompson and Murray Forbes led the defense in ground balls and loose balls caused. Thompson had 11 GBs and 8 LBCs and a goal, while Forbes had 7 GBs and 11 LBCs and an assist. Chris Woolley had 8 GBs and 6 LBCs as well.
Joey Pietrantoni led the scoring for Riverside with two goals, Tim Woolley had a goal and two assists, Brian Jobe and Chris Cherry each had a goal and T.L. Hutchins had an assist. Shane Nouri had three goals for the Tigers, Chet Corey had two, Kevin O'Connor and Nick Desper each had a goal and Pat Shannon had an assist.
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Riverside upturns Orange 21-1
Newly inspired Pirates too much for the Panthers
Posted at 9:30 p.m., Apr. 21, 2004
The Pirates, led by Tim Woolley's five goals and three assists, bowled over the Orange Panthers 21-1 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004, in Hillsborough. It was the second win in 24 hours for the Pirates, who celebrated a win over Jordan the evening before.
[MORE LATER]
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