|
|
 |
| MEETING TONIGHT: Don't forget, there's an RHS lacrosse parents' meeting tonight, Sept. 30, in the Riverside cafeteria at 7 p.m. Players are welcome to come. |
| NEW FEATURE: There's a new feature on the site: Jerseys Through the Years. It shows every player who has worn an RHS lacrosse jersey and the years he wore it. |
Glenn Estacio comes back to Riverside
Former assistant will teach and take over as head coach in 2010 |
Posted Aug. 12, 2008, 5:15 p.m.
Former Riverside assistant coach Glenn Estacio returns to Riverside as a teacher as as the successor Coach Jim Kirkley when Kirkley retires after next season.
|
It's official. Glenn Estacio is coming back to Riverside. The former Pirate assistant coach will serve as assistant coach and offensive coordinator for the 2009 season and will become head coach beginning with the 2010 season.
In addition to assisting Coach Jim Kirkley with the men's lacrosse team, Estacio has been hired as a teacher at Riverside. Coach Estacio has a Master of Arts in Teaching, and will be teaching biology and honors earth science beginning in the fall.
Coach Kirkley says he is excited at the prospect of having Coach Estacio back at Riverside.
"I could not be happier having Glenn coming back to Riverside to take over," said Coach Kirkley. "I know that I am turning the program over to a great person, a great coach and a good friend. With my leaving, I wanted to be sure that the lacrosse program at Riverside would continue in the tradition that we have all manage to establish here. In Glenn, we have managed to find someone who will not just continue the tradition, but improve and grow it. He is an extremely dedicated coach, committed to his players and to the game. I actually think he is a better coach than I, and having been part of the program here for seven years, he is familiar with the people, the alumni and the mindset we have. The timing of the transition couldn't be better and I will be able to retire from Riverside knowing that I am leaving the program in excellent hands."
Coach Estacio says he is happy to be coming back to Riverside.
"This is a very exciting time for myself and my family," he said. "Jim and Mary Kirkley have already made Sandy and myself feel like a part of the Riverside family. I have already spoken to some of the players and parents from my previous run with the Pirates, and they have also expressed to me how happy they are that I am returning to Riverside. I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know the current players and parents, and helping Coach K. continue the outstanding tradition that is Riverside Larcrosse. I am thrilled to be back at Riverside, am grateful to Coach Kirkley for giving me this opportunity, and am hopeful that I will be able to teach and coach at Riverside for years to come."
Coach Estacio brings an outstanding resume to Riverside. He was the assistant coach/offensive coordinator for the Pirates for seven years, during which time the Pirates won four state titles, usually exhibiting explosive offensive firepower. Since 2003, he has been the head coach of the Chapel Hill Tigers and has led them to three state championships in just five years, including back-to-back titles the last two years. That means that of the twelve state titles decided on the 4A level since 1997, Coach Estacio has had an integral hand in seven of them.
Coach Estacio has been involved with North Carolina high school lacrosse for many years. As a player, he was a product of the program at Durham Academy, where he played on two state championship teams. In 1996, Estacio began his coaching career as an assistant to Coach Kirkley at Riverside High School.
During his tenure at Riverside, Coach Estacio was a part of four state championships and helped coach several all-state performers and six All-Americans. In 2003, Estacio became the head coach at Chapel Hill High School. During his tenure, the Tigers won NCHSLA State Championships in 2003, 2007, and 2008, and also appeared in the finals in 2006.
Also during that time, Chapel Hill produced several all-state performers and seven All-Americans. As head coach at Chapel Hill, Estacio posted 97 wins against 34 losses, a winning percentage of 74 percent. He was awarded PAC VI Coach of the Year honors in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008, and was named NCHSLA Coach of the Year in 2006.
|
Purple Team beats White Team 12-11 in OT
Plumer scores winning goal in annual RHS lacrosse alumni clash |
Posted June 25, 2008, 10:00 p.m.
Matt Plumer ('95) scored an unassisted, left-handed goal in sudden-death overtime to give the Purple Team a 12-11 win over the White Team on June 22, 2008, in the latest edition of the annual Riverside Lacrosse alumni game.
Purple had led most of the way, but White managed to tie the game with less than three minutes remaining on the 18-minute running clock in the fourth period when Colin Cash ('07) scored on a Cory Coffman ('03) assist to make it 11-11, putting the game into overtime.
Purple scored first only two minutes in when Bob Kercher ('07) scored on a rocket into the top left corner of the net. But two minutes later Scott Gordon ('98) tied it at 1-1 on an unassisted goal, and then Joe Hubbard (CHHS '99), playing by invitation to ensure enough players for a game, put the ball into an open net after snagging a bad pass, giving White the lead at 2-1.
With 6 minutes left in the first period Plumer scored for Purple on a Bradley Shore ('99) assist to tie the game 2-2. White responded two minutes later when Cash scored on a Chis Wells ('02) assist to to give White its last lead of the day at 3-2. That evaporated with only 10 seconds left in the period when Evan Leekley ('99) scored on a Kercher assist to tie the game at 3-3 after one period.
Purple pressed the issue, getting more shots than White in the early going. White goalie Bryan Rooney ('08) made three big saves over first three minutes to keep Purple from adding to their goal total. But in the sixth minute Doug Cook ('07) scored unassisted to put Purple ahead 4-3.
Only two minutes later it was 5-3 when Laurence Tilley ('01) scored unassisted. His goal was followed by another Kercher unassisted goal to make it 6-3. With six minutes remaining in the period White cut the lead to 6-4 as Coffman scored unassisted. Purple added another goal by halftime on an unassisted goal by longpole Duran Green, who grabbed a ground ball at midfield and took it all the way to the net, making it 7-4 at the break.
White scored the first goal of the third quarter five minutes in as Clayton Abbott ('08) put one in the net unassisted, making it 7-5. Purple responded with two goals, one by Leekley from Shore and another by Joey Pietrantoni ('05) from Brian Juranas ('08), putting Purple up 9-5.
White added two goals of its own before the end of the third period to pull to within two goals, 7-5. Gordon scored on a Wells assist and Coffman scored unassisted.
In the final period, White scored first to get to within one, at 9-8, with Gordon scoring unassisted. Purple responded two minutes later as Pietrantoni scored unassisted to make it 10-8. Gordon pulled White back to within one again, 10-9 with seven minutes remaining, but a Tilley score on an Owen Ham ('03) assist at the five-minute mark made it 11-9.
With four minutes remaining White cut it to one again as Alex Spathis ('09) scored on a Coffman assist to make it 11-10. And with a little more than two minutes left, Cash scored on a Coffman assist to tie the game at 11-11, leading to Plumer's winning goal one minute into overtime.
| Purple |
3 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
--12 |
| White |
3 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
--11 |
Scoring for Purple: Kercher 2g, 1a; Plumer 2g; Leekely 2g; Tilley 2g; Pietrantoni 2g; Green 1g; Cook 1g; Shore 2a; Ham 1a; Juranas 1a.
Scoring for White: Gordon 4g; Coffman 2g, 2a; Cash 2g; Abbott 1g; Spathis 1g; Hubbard 1g; Wells 2a.
In goal, White goalie Rooney had 13 saves and Purple goalie Zach Brewer had 10 saves.
Roster for Purple: Bradley Shore 1999, Bob Kercher 2007, Doug Cook 2007, Evan Leekley 1999, Kevin Radack 2001, Matt Weaver 2007, Andy Ross 2005, Duran Green 2003, Adam Roberts 2000, Matt Plumer 1995, Brian Juranas 2008, Laurence Tilley 2001, Zach Brewer 2003, Joey Pietrantoni 2005, Owen Ham 2003, Carson Sterling 2011.
Roster for White: Clayton Abbott 2008, Jay Whitaker 2004, Joe Hubbard CHHS 1999, Sean Hizey 1998, Ryan Webb 2004, Scott Gordon 1998, Bryan Rooney 2008, Cory Coffman 2003, Mike Schwartz 2008, Chris Wells 2002, Colin Cash 2007, Alex Spathis 2009, David Swift 2008, Nick Scroggs 1998, Matt Marsee 2009, Ned Phillips 2002.
|
Kirkley announces 2009 exit as RHS coach
16-year coach tells parents and players at annual awards dinner |
Posted May 20, 2008, 11:00 p.m.
Coach Jim Kirkley announces to Riverside player and parents on May 20, 2008, that the 2009 season will be his last as Riverside's lacrosse coach. |
From left, Carson Sterling won Rookie of the Year award, Clark Harrison won the Coach's Award, and Bryan Rooney won Most Valuable Player at the annual season-ending familyh dinner on May 20, 2008. |
The 2009 captains were announced at the annual season-ending familyh dinner on May 20, 2008. They are, left to right, Jackson Marshall and Alex Spathis. |
It was a family dinner like 16 before it, until all the awards were given out. At the time that Coach Jim Kirkley would usually wrap things up and tell everyone the festivities were over, he got serious. Longtime fans knew something was up.
He recounted the history of the Riverside program and mentioned, to the surprise of newcomers, that he once was an assistant coach at archrival Jordan before taking the Riverside coaching job in 1993. Then, after talking of what the Riverside lacrosse family has meant to him, he told the players and parents that the 2009 season would be his last at RHS.
He said he's evaluated his situation at the end of every season recently and this time he decided that his family obligations and desire to do other things won out. "But I didn't want to leave you in the lurch," he said, so he decided to give a one-year notice so that there will be time to find a replacement.
Prior to the bombshell announcement, Kirkley gave out letters to JV and varsity players, and also presented the annual serious and not-so-serious awards. The Most Valuable Player award went to senior goalie Bryan Rooney, the Rookie of the Year award went to freshman attackman Carson Sterling, and the Coach's Award went to senior defenseman Clark Harrison.
The less-serious awards of the night included the Billy the Kid Award for the most shots taken (Carson Sterling), the Jailbird Award for most penalty minutes (Clayton Abbott) and the Pickpocket Award for most LBCs (Jackson Marshall).
|
Pirates upend Reynolds 8-5 on Senior Night
Big third quarter helps Riverside win its final game of the season |
Posted May 4, 2008, 11:00 p.m.
The 2008 senior players and stat girls were honored before the game against R.J. Reynolds. They are, kneeling, left to right, Alex Starnes, Clark Harrison, Alex Rand, David Swift, Mike Schwartz and Eric Bircher. Standing, left to right, Lizzy Lauffer, Anna Gibala, Zack Brown, Sam Cordones, Clayton Abbott, Bryan Rooney, Brian Juranas, Erik Summers, Will Boone, Chrissy Warren and Sarah Ross. Not shown are senior stat girls Kendall Cook and Mary Kate McManness. Click on photo for a larger version. |
During the 2008 season a bad third quarter has doomed the Riverside Pirates on several occasions. But on Senior Night on May 2, 2008, their final game of the year, against R.J. Reynolds it was a big third quarter that this time sealed the win for the Pirates.
The Pirates had a tenuous 3-1 lead at halftime, but they scored five goals, their second most productive output of the year (they had 6 goals in a quarter against Northern last month and 5 in the final quarter against Grimsley), in the third period to give them a cushion they would need for the win.
The Pirates jumped to a 2-0 lead on unassisted goals by Carson Sterling at 11:20 of the first period and Clayton Abbott at 7:26. Sterling, who recently became Riverside's all-time freshman points leader, made it 3-0 at 6:00, on another unassisted goal.
Reynolds was called for a 1-minute stick penalty at the beginning of the second period, but the Pirates couldn't take advantage of the non-releasable extra-man opportunity. The Demons made them pay for that lapse when, at 9:35, Whit Taylor scored on a rolling-pass assist from Zack Wortman to put Reynolds on the board, 3-1.
Neither team mounted much of a threat during the rest of the period, but with 33 seconds remaining Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney took the ball from the Pirate goal to about 15 yards from the Reynolds goal with what seemed to be every intention to try to score. He was met by three Reynolds defenders and a timeout call by Coach Jim Kirkley at 18 seconds ensured the Pirates would maintain possession. They could not manage a shot over the remaining seconds after the timeout, however.
In the third period, Abbott came around the back of the net and scored unassisted at 8:43 to make it 4-1, but Reynolds responded with two unanswered goals to cut the Pirate lead to a single goal. Taylor scored on a Ryan Johnson assist at 8:19 and Dek Timberlake scored unassisted to make it 4-3. It looked like the third-quarter jinx was in play.
That all changed, though, at the 7:19 mark when one of the Demons longpoles was declared illegal, resulting in a 3-minute non-releaseable penalty. Would the Pirates rise to this opportunity, as they hadn't during the first stick penalty? That question was answered immediately when Mike Schwartz won the faceoff and Ben Bortner scored on an Abbott assist at 6:43. Again Schwartz won the faceoff and took the ball to the goal, hitting Alex Spathis who scored at 6:36, making it 6-3.
But it wasn't over. Schwartz won his third straight faceoff and 20 seconds later Spathis scored on a Bortner assist to make it 7-3. The Pirates had scored three goals in 2:03.
Rooney made two big one-on-one saves over the course of the final minutes of the period to keep the Pirate lead at 4, but with 34 seconds remaining Timberlake scored on a Jack Teasdall assist to make it 7-4. The Pirates lost the ensuing faceoff but at 10.5 they managed to gain possession. The Pirates were passing the ball around as the crowd counted down the seconds. With about 1 second remaining, Scott Levine passed to Sterling, who was at his familiar spot on the right side, about 12 yards out. He shot a low one and, with .5 seconds remaining, he scored, making it 8-4 and resulting in the loudest cheer by RHS fans all year.
The Demons added a goal in the final period, making it 8-5. Rooney prevented a sure Reynolds goal at 3:40 when he went one-on-one with a Demons longpole and stuffed his shot, ensuring that he and the other Riverside 2008 seniors would end their careers on a high note.
Rooney had 16 saves for Riverside while Mike Schwartz led in ground balls with 4 and Jackson Marshall led in LBCs with 3.
The seniors players who were recognized during a ceremony before the game were Alex Starnes, Clark Harrison, Alex Rand, David Swift, Mike Schwartz, Eric Bircher, Zack Brown, Sam Cordones, Clayton Abbott, Bryan Rooney, Brian Juranas, Erik Summers and Will Boone. Also honored during the ceremony were senior stat girls Chrissy Warren, Sarah Ross, Lizzy Lauffer and Anna Gibala. Senior stat girls Kendall Cook and Mary Kate McManness, who were not present, were also recognized.
|
Chapel Hill over Pirates 13-8
Riverside takes early lead buy can't hold off Tiger onslaught |
Posted May 4, 2008, 6:00 p.m.
Riverside and Chapel Hill fans saw something they hadn't expected at halftime on May 1, 2008: The 4-15 Pirates were leading the 15-2 Tigers 6-5 at the break.
Riverside's Peter Ratcliffe puts in a goal after Carson Sterling stole the ball at midfield and passed to Alex Spathis for the assist to Ratcliffe against Chapel Hill on May 1, 2008. (Photo by John Schwartz)
|
That lead was facilitated by Chapel Hill playing their non-starting seniors on their Senior Night (they were honoring 21 seniors on this night) for the first 5 minutes. During that stretch, Riverside took advantage and raced to 3-0 lead before the Tiger starters took the field.
The Pirates scored 7 seconds into the game as Mike Schwartz took the opening face, passed to Carson Sterling who assisted Alex Spathis to make it 1-0 at 11:54. At 9:22 Spathis made it 2-0 on a Clayton Abbott pass. That possession was set up by a pass interception by Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney at 10:17.
At 6:55 Spathis made it 3-0 on a backhand shot of a loose ball in a scrum in front of the crease. That possession was set up by a David Swift ground ball at mifield at 7:49.
Before the next faceoff, Tiger Coach Glenn Estacio put in his starters, but initially it didn't make much difference as Schwartz blew by his defender and put a strong right-handed shot past the Tiger goalie to make it 4-0 at 6:06.
The Pirate defense kept the powerful Tigers off balance for most of the remaining minutes of the period, causing loose balls and out-of-bounds passes. The Pirates had two golden opportunities to pad their lead as they had two extra-man advantages of 30 seconds each, but they couldn't score during either one.
Finally, at 2:33, Chapel Hill broke the plane of the goal for the first time as Kevin Hornik scored on a Stephen Burns assist, the first of five assists for Burns in the game. That score made it 4-1 Riverside as the first period ended.
At the beginning of the second period the Riverside defense kept the Tigers' cannons Will Scroggs and John Haus from getting off shots. And when they did managed a shot it either went wide of the goal or Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney managed to stop it, as he did on Haus at the 11:08 mark.
But at the 8:02 mark, Chapel Hill's Stephen Wistner took a Burns feed and made it 4-2. The Pirates had another EMO at 7:21 but again couldn't capitalize. The Pirate defense continued to play well, but the Tigers were seeming to find the range. They hit two posts at 4:41 and at 3:53, and at 3:12 Burns scored on a Chris Michell assist to make it 4-3.
Wistner scored on a Burns assist at 2:54 to make it 4-4, and it felt like the rout would be on. But Riverside answered at 2:15 when Clayton Abbott scored on a Sterling assist to retake the lead 5-4.
The Tigers didn't take long to answer, however, as Wistner scored on a John Haus assist to tie the game at 5-5 with 2:03 remaining in the half. With about 1:45 left in the half, Sterling whacked the ball loose from a Tiger midfielder as the Tigers were seemingly on a fast break.
Sterling got the ground ball and passed quickly to Spathis, near the restraining line and behind most of the Tiger defenders. Spathis then hit Peter Ratcliffe right in front of the net and he put the ball in to make it 6-5 Pirates as the first half ended.
As the third period began, the Pirate defense was again strong, with Rooney making two of his 15 sasves during the first two minutes of the half, and the Pirate long poles getting two LBCs during that period. The result was Riverside dominating possession for the first four minutes of the third period.
At the 8-minute mark the Tigers had an extra-man opportunity but couldn't cash in. But at the 7:12 Scroggs scored unassisted on a strong left-handed shot to tie the score at 6-6. But again the game Pirates didn't hang their heads. At 5:48, after not being able to score on an extra-man opportunity of their own a minute before, Mike Schwartz scored on a Spathis assist to again put Riverside in the lead, 7-6.
Again the defense came up strong for the Pirates as the Tigers could mount no threat over the next five minutes. But at 2:08, while in a 1-minute extra-man, Burns scored on a John Haus assist to tie the score at 7-7.
That seemed to open the flood gates for the Tigers as they scored three quick unsettled goals to go up 10-7 by the end of the period. Scoring in that stretch were Michael Abrams from Burns at 1:09, John Haus on a Will Haus assist at 21.7 seconds, and then Scroggs on a Burns assist with only 4.4 seconds left.
The scoring streak continued in the final period for the Tigers. At 11:16 Kevin Hornik scored on a John Haus assist, at 10:28 Michael Abrams scored on a Brett Yusiewicz assist, and at 5:23 Colie Woods scored unassisted to make it 13-7.
The Pirates managed one more goal, this one by Spathis on a Peter Ratcliffe assist, to make the final score 13-8.
Rooney had 15 saves for the Pirates, Scott Levine led in ground balls with 6, and Jackson Marshall led in LBCs with 5.
|
Pirates down Northern 7-1
Riverside starts slowly but kicks it in down the stretch |
Posted May 4, 2008, 6:00 p.m.
Riverside's Mike Schwartz scores one of his two goals against Northern on April 29, 2008. (Photo by John Schwartz)
|
The Riverside Pirates had a slow first half against Northern on April 29, 2008, scoring only 2 goals in two periods. But they added five more in the second half to take the win 7-1 against the Knights on their Senior Night.
Riverside managed two goals in the first period, one by Mike Schwartz on a Carson Sterling assist at 4:43 and an extra-man goal by Alex Spathis from Clayton Abbott at 1:05.
Neither team found the net in the second period, but at 10:19 of the third period, Sterling picked up a rebound of a missed shot by Alex Spathis and put it in the net to make it 3-0 Riverside. Northern responded with a goal of their own at 9:39 when No. 2 (sorry, don't have that name on my roster) scored unassisted to cut the lead to 3-1. But at 5:34 Schwartz rounded the top and scored unassisted to extend it to 4-1.
At 4:12, Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney made a great one-on-one save to gain possession for the Pirates, allowing Spathis to score on a Sterling assist at 3:57, making it 5-1 Pirates as the third period ended.
In the final period Riverside managed two more goals. Scott Levine scored at 9:50 on a Sterling assist, and with only 3 seconds remaining in the game Steven Greer intercepted a Northern clearing pass right in front of the Northern goal and put it in for his first varsity goal, making the final score 7-1.
Rooney had 7 saves for Riverside. Carson Sterling led Riverside in ground balls with 9. Brian Juranas led in LBCs with 8. Northern goalie Troy Connell had 16 saves for the Knights.
|
Holy Cross defeats Pirates 11-7
Canadian visitors take early lead and never give it up |
Riverside's Clark Harrison puts pressure on a Holy Cross midfielder at Riverside on April 25, 2008. (Photo by John Schwartz)
|
Posted May 4, 2008, 7:45 p.m.
The Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School Raiders from St. Catharine's, Ontario, jumped to a 3-0 lead and never looked back as they took on the Riverside Pirates on April 25, 2008.
From all accounts (I was out of town, but several people have provided accounts of the game) the Pirates played as well as they had all year for this game against the visitors from the Great White North. Also (I'm told) there was a great amount of cameraderie and sportsmanship before, during and after the game.
The Raiders jumped to a 3-0 lead after one quarter, with goals by Holy Cross's No. 17 at 11:09, No. 77 at 8:28 and No. 25 at 2:08. The Pirates got on the board at 9:21 of the second period in a man-up situation as Carson Sterling scored on a Clayton Abbott assist, making it 3-1.
The Riverside and Holy Cross teams gather for a joint team photo after their game at Riverside on April 25, 2008. Click on photo to see a larger version. (Photo by Mark Abbott)
|
The Raiders went up 4-1 at 4:40 on a goal by No. 25, but Riverside's Mike Schwartz made it 4-2 at 3:49 on an unassisted goal. At 2:17 the Raiders made it 5-2 on an unassisted goal by No. 54, but with only 4 seconds remaining in the second period, Riverside's Alex Spathis scored on a Schwartz assist to make it 5-3 at the half.
The Raiders went up 6-3 at 4:56 of the third, but only a few seconds later, after winning the faceoff, the Pirates scored to make it 6-4 at 4:48 with Sterling scoring on a Spathis assist.
The Raiders added three more in the waning minutes of the third period, all by No. 77 to go up 9-4. He scored at 3:40, 2:29 and 1:33 to put the game away. The score was 9-4 going into the final period.
Riverside's Abbott made it 9-5 on an unassisted goal at 10:03 of the final period, but the Raiders added two to make it 11-5, with No. 54 scoring at 6:41 and No. 77 scoring his sixth goal at 4:17.
The Pirates added two more in the final minutes, with Peter Ratcliffe scoring unassisted at 3:37 and Abbott scoring unassisted at 1:18, making the final score 11-7 in favor of the Raiders from Ontario.
Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 5 saves in the game, Peter Ratcliffe led in ground balls with 3, and Zack Brown led in LBCs with 5.
|
Pirates beat Broughton 6-1
Defense holds the Caps to 1 goal for third win of the season |
Riverside's Jackson Marshall clears the ball after an LBC against Raleigh Broughton on April 24, 2008. (Photo by John Schwartz)
|
Posted May 4, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
The Riverside Pirates defense bottled up the Caps from Broughton, holding them scoreless for three periods to take their third win of the season.
Riverside scored first as Peter Ratcliffe scored at 11:00 on a Carson Sterling assist. Neither team scored for the rest of the first period, but in the second Broughton tied the game at 1-1 when No. 23 scored on an assist from No. 17 (sorry, wasn't at the game and don't have names; will add later, if possible).
But that was all the Caps would manage the rest of the way as Riverside scored five unanswered, three in the second period and two in the third.
Alex Spathis scored on a David Swift assist at 6:55 of the second period for Riverside's second goal. Then, at 2:51, Robert Walton scored unassisted to make it 3-1. And at 1:39 the Pirates scored an extra-man goal when Peter Ratcliffe scored on a Mike Schwartz assist to make it 4-1.
In the third period, Sterling scored on a Schwartz assist at 6:41 and Spathis scored unassisted at 5"32 to make the final score 6-1.
Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 7 saves in the game. Clayton Abbott led in ground balls with 5, and Clark Harrison led in LBCs with 3.
|
East downs Pirates 10-3
Pirates keep it close until halftime, but ECH takes control late |
Riverside's Clayton Abbott scores one of his two goals against East Chapel Hill on April 22, 2008. (Photo by John Schwartz)
|
Posted May 4, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
The Riverside Pirates hung close to the East Chapel Hill Wildcats for 24 minutes on April 22, 2008, but were outscored 7-1 in the second half to fall 10-3.
The Wildcats scored first when Tom St. Geme scored on a Scott Elkins assist at 11:14. The Pirate defense and three saves by Riverside's Bryan Rooney over the next 7 minutes kept East out of the goal, but at 3:48 an unsettled goal by Nick Vitali on a Thomas Meyer assist made it 2-0 Wildcats as the period ended.
At 6:24 the Wildcats upped the lead to 3-0, but the Pirates responded with two goals of their won. At 5:49 the Pirates made it 3-1 on an extra-man goal. Then, at 2:59 they cut the lead to one goal as Clayton Abbott scored on a Ben Bortner assist, making it 3-2 East at the half.
The Wildcats broke the game open early in the third period as they scored four unanswered goals out of the gate. At 9:59 Scot Meyer scored unassiste to make it 4-2. Then at 9:03 Vitali scored on an Elkins assist to make it 5-2. That was followed by a Scot Meyer left-hander unassisted to make it 6-2. That scoring streak was ended when Kord Scharfenberg scored unassisted to make it 7-2, putting the game firmly in the Wildcats' hands.
The Pirates broke the Wildcat scoring streak at 4:32 when Clayton Abbott scored on a running right-hander to make it 7-3 as the third period ended.
The Wildcats added three more in the final period to make the final 10-3. Thomas Meyer scored on a Dan Eron assist at 11:16, Scharfenberg scored a man-down goal on an Elkins assist at 7:22, and Thomas Meyer scored on another Elkins assist at 6:51 to end the scoring.
Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 10 saves on the night. Clark Harrison and Carson Sterling led in ground balls with 4 each, and Jack Ratcliffe led in LBCs with 5.
|
Jordan Falcons over Pirates 6-4
Bright spot on the night was RHS's perfect man-down defense |
Posted April 22, 2008, 2:38 p.m.
Riverside gave up two early goals against the Jordan Falcons on April 18, 2008, and those two were enough to keep Jordan ahead until the final buzzer sounded with the Falcons up 6-4.
The Pirates won the game's opening faceoff but quickly lost possession on a loose ball. The Falcons made Riverside pay for that mistake with a quick goal at 11:35 by midfielder David Albert to make it 1-0. The Pirates killed off a Jordan extra-man opportunity right after that goal. The Riverside man-down defense kept their team in the game by keeping the Falcons from scoring on any of their penalty tries. Jordan was 0-6 in exta-man tries.
Riverside's Jackson Marshall (left) helps keep Jordan out of the net on one of the Falcons' six unsuccessful extra-man tries on April 18, 2008 at Riverside (Photo by John Schwartz)
Two of Riverside's former goalies, Ryan Webb '04 (left) and Zach Brewer '03 visited their alma mater during the Jordan game on April 18, 2008. Webb is finishing up a chemistry degree at UNC and Brewer is in med school at Vanderbilt after graduating from M.I.T. (Photo by John Schwartz)
|
The Pirates tied the game 1-1 at 9:26 when Mike Schwartz found a cutting Clayton Abbott for the Riverside goal. At 8:19 Jordan's Bill Nifong scored the first of his four goals on a fluky rebound. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had made the save but the rebound was punched back in to put Jordan up 2-1.
Only a few seconds later, at 8:05, with Jordan being awarded the ball without a faceoff due to a delay of game penalty on Riverside, Nifong agains scored to make it 3-1. It was almost 4-1 at the 6:12 mark as a Jordan shooter put one in the goal a split-second after their coach had called a timeout. The goal was disallowed.
Riverside's Schwartz scored on a long shot from near the restraining line at 4:16 to make it 3-2, but the Falcons got their fourth goal at 4:03 as Nifong scored again unassisted to make it 4-2 as the first period ended.
Both teams had trouble scoring in the second period, with Jordan managing no goals and Riverside managing one. That came at the 8:43 mark as the Pirates' Brad Hinkle scored on an assist from Peter Ratcliffe to make it 4-3 Falcons. Riverside had two extra-man opportunities and Jordan has one in the second period but neither could capitalize on their advantages.
The teams played between the restraining lines for much of the third period before Jordan managed a score at 6:22 when Corey Melton scored on a Kevin Kershaw assist to make it 5-3. With 2:01 remaining, and with Riverside in the man-up, the Pirates' Schwartz scored his second goal, this one on a Clayton Abbott assist, making it 5-4 at the end of three periods.
The lone goal in the final period was a Nifong score on a Matt Love assist at 10:07. The Pirate defense managed to kill three of their six Jordan extra-man opportunities in the final period, one of those with the Pirates down two men, keeping the score closer than it would have been otherwise. The final was 6-4 Jordan.
Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney, playing with a broken bone in his right hand, had 15 saves in the game. Carson Sterling and Zack Brown led the Pirates in ground balls with 4 each. Clark Harrison led in LBCs with 3. Jordan goalie Ben Deihl had 5 goals against the Pirates.
|
|
|
|
