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| 2008 Games Stories (continued) |
| Pirates fall to Chapel Hill 11-3 8-1 scoring edge in middle periods cinched it for Tigers |
Riverside's first period against the Chapel Hill Tigers had the flavor of the rivalry in years past as they played the vistors to a standstill for the first 11:21 on April 15, 2008. But with 39 seconds left in the second period the Tigers began a 9-0 run that put the game away.
Good goaltending by Riverside's Erik Summers, playing in place of an injured Bryan Rooney, and strong work by the Pirate longpoles kept the Tigers out of the goal for most of the remaining portion of the first period. Summers had four of his 13 saves during that stretch and the Pirate defense forced several Tiger miscues. But with the Pirates in the extra man offense Chapel Hill's Spencer Stoltz snagged a pass with his longpole and went the distance to score a man-down goal with 39 seconds remaining, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead as the second period began. The Tigers quickly stretched their lead as Hornik scored on a Brett Yusiewicz assist at 11:52. They scored again at 11:02 after the Pirates had been called for an illegal pocket on a longpole. Wistner scored that one unassisted, making it 4-1. Chapel Hill scored three more in the period as Price Carter scored on a Will Haus assist at 6:11, followed by an unassisted Carter goal at 5:13. A John Haus unassisted goal at 3:24 made it 7-1 as the half ended. The Tigers scored two more in the third period, a Hornik goal on an assist from Christian Strong at 10:03, followed by an unassisted Hornik goal at 7:48, making it 10-1. With a minute to go Riverside found itself in an extra-man situation. They hadn't threatened to score in the penalty when the ball went out on a Chapel Hill player with 7 seconds remaining. With a few seconds remaining on the clock in the period, Riverside's Carson Sterling turned his head and looked at the clock and seemed to make up his mind that he was going to score, which he did with only 2 seconds remaining in the period, making it 10-2 going into the final quarter. Riverside managed one goal in the final period, set up by Steven Greer's big hit on a Chapel Hill player who had been vitimized by a "buddy pass" from a teammate. Greer managed the ground ball after the hit and passed off the Sterling who assisted Alex Spathis on Riverside's third and final goal. Chapel Hill made the final score 11-3 with a goal with 24 seconds remaining, this one unassisted by Kevin Bekolo. Riverside goalie Summers had 13 saves in the game, putting in a good performace in the clutch as starter Rooney was nursing a possible broken thumb. Clark Harrison led Riverside in ground balls with 5. Jackson Marshall led the Pirates in LBCs also with 5. [If any Chapel Hill coaches, players or parents see any misspelled names or miscredited scores or assists, let me know. I wrote down the CHHS roster very quickly and my handwriting is not the best. Also, there was some question on scoring at the end of the game.] |
| Pirates down Northern 10-2 Balanced scoring and defense keep win streak over NHS alive |
| Posted April 18, 2008, 3:45 p.m. The Pirates, riding an 11-game winless streak, used strong defense and balanced scoring to keep from losing the first game ever to Northern on April 11, 2008. Multiple goals by four different players and a 6-1 second period scoring edge led to the win.
The second period was all Pirates as they scored 6 goals to Northern's single score to take an 8-2 lead into the half. Carson Sterling started the scoring for Riverside on an Alex Rand assist at 9:39 to make it 3-1. Mike Schwartz scored on a Peter Ratcliffe assist at 6:40 to make it 4-1, followed by Abbott from Sterling at 5:19, Spathis scoring unassisted on an intercepted pass at 4:56 to make it 6-1. Northern's Aaron Farabee scored when his shot was initially saved by Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney. But the ball rebounded straight up about 20 feet in the air and came down behind Rooney with backspin and popped right into the goal, making it 6-2. Riverside scored two more before the end of the second period as Abbott hit on a Sterling assist at 1:48 and Sterling scored on a pass from Abbott at 1:20, making it 8-2 at the break. The Pirates scored two in the third period as Ben Bortner scored his first varsity goal on a Sterling assist at 11:09. He scored his second at 5:28 unassisted on a low stinger to make it 10-2. Neither team scored in the final period. Riverside's Rooney had 8 saves in the game. Sterling led in ground balls with 5 while Zack Brown led in LBCs with 4. |
| Pirates lose close one to Western 9-11 RHS cut 4-goal Hornet lead to 1 late but couldn't close gap |
| Posted April 11, 2008, 2:45 p.m. The Riverside Pirates seesawed with the Western Guilford Hornets at Riverside on April 10, 2008, each team sharing the lead in the first half, but a three-goal spurt by the Hornets early in the third period gave the visitors a lead they never relinquished as they went on to an 11-9 win.
Western scored quickly as the second period began when Matt Weichel scored on a Ryan Gehsmann assist to make it 3-2 Western. But Riverside answered at 10:32 when Alex Rand was hit hard in the crease but managed to get a pass off to Alex Spathis who put the ball in the net to tie the game at 3-3. The Hornets pulled ahead again 4-3 at 9:51 when Gehsmann scored on a Weichel assist. But Riverside's Mike Schwartz tied the game again at 4:51 when he drove from up top and put in a strong right-hander at the Western goalie's feet, making it 4-4. At 3:25 the Pirates went ahead 5-4 when Brad Hinkle took a pass from Clayton Abbott and did a little jump hook with the ball over the goalie's head. The Riverside defense forced three Hornet failures to advance late in the period, but at 1:35, while in the extra man, Western tied the game at 5-5 on an unassisted goal by Brandon Fields. It looked as if the half would end in a tie, but with only 10 seconds left in the second period the Hornets' Weichel went through Riverside's defense, which seemed to be playing an I've-got-him-you-take-him scheme, to give Western a 6-5 lead at the break. The question among Riverside fans was whether the Pirates would be demoralized and fold, and for a period that seemed to be what was going to happen. Western came out of the gate in the second half and scored three unanswered goals in less than 4 minutes to go up 9-5. Hornets longpole Thompson did a repeat of his first-half goal, scoring from the wing groundball on the faceoff at 11:46, followed by a Gehsmann goal on an assist by Michael Laliberty, and then a Fields goal on an assist by Ahmad Abuzuaiter. The only highlight of that stretch was when Pirate goalie Rooney, left naked on the doorstep with a Western player bearing down on him, stepped out of the crease and decked the encroaching Hornet, picking up the ground ball for the Riverside possession. Riverside had two extra-man opportunities near the mid-quarter mark but couldn't capitalize on either, but with 5 minutes remaining in the third period Riverside's Sterling put his team on his back an reeled off three straight unassisted goals. At 5:05, while riding a Hornet clear, he stole a pass and found himself one-on-one with the Western goalie and won that battle, cutting the Hornet lead to 9-6. At 4:40, after faceoff man Steven Greer won the possession for Riverside, Sterling made a nifty cut behind the goal that left his defender flat-footed and moved around the front and forced the ball in the make it 9-7. And with only 33 seconds remaining in the third period he scored unassisted to make it 9-8 with a quarter remaining. The Riverside goal streak was ended at 11:10 when the Hornets' Fields scored unassisted to make it 10-8. And at 10:29 another Weichel unassisted goal made it 11-8. The Pirates had an EMO opportunity at 6:55 when a Hornet was put in the box for a slash, accompanied by an unsportsmanlike non-releaseable penalty, but they couldn't put the ball in the net. The Pirates hit two pipes in the final two minutes, and, with 8 seconds remaining, Spathis took a Peter Ratcliffe feed to make the final score 11-9. Riverside's Rooney had 8 saves in the game, several of the 1-on-1 variety. He also managed an LBC and 2 GBs. Abbott and Sterling led with 6 groundballs each. Abbott led in LBCs with 5. |
| Gibbons rides big 4th period to 9-7 win Pirates led by 2 late in the game but gave up 5 in final period |
| Posted April 10, 2008, 12:05 p.m. The Riverside Pirates played possibly their best lacrosse of the year on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at Cardinal Gibbons in Raleigh, leading by two goals late in the game against the 9-1 Crusaders. But a flurry of Gibbons goals in the final period doomed the Pirates to a 1-10 record and pushed the Crusader won-loss record to a mirror-image 10-1.
As the second period began, Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney helped keep the lead for Riverside when he got an LBC at 11:48, breaking up a Crusader scoring attempt, and, at 10:25, when he made a huge 1-on-1 save to keep Gibbons off the board. He had 11 saves on the night. But at 9:32 the Crusaders tied the score when Matt Enzweiler scored on a Packy Mueller assist. And, at 6:31, Gibbon got the lead 2-1 in the extra man when Chris Nelson scored on a Mueller assist. The Pirates quickly tied the game at 2-2 when, at 4:09, Alex Spathis took a nifty left-handed pass from Mike Schwartz to score. But, again, the Crusaders scored a man-up goal at 3:05 to make it 3-2, as they were up two men. That goal came from Mueller on a Nelson assist, one of Mueller's five goals on the night. Riverside again came up with a matching score at 1:55 when Peter Ratcliffe scored unassisted, followed quickly by a Spathis goal at 1:01 on a Clayton Abbott assist while Riverside was in the extra man, giving the Pirates a 4-3 lead at the half. The Pirates went up 5-3 at 10:12 of the third period when Carson Sterling scored on a Schwartz assist. The Crusaders tied the game at 6:30 when Camden Feldman scored on a Nelson assist, but the Pirates pulled out to a two-goal lead with 33.8 seconds left in the period when Spathis scored on a Robert Walton assist, making it 6-4 with 12 minutes of play remaining. Those were not good minutes for the Pirates, it would turn out. The Crusaders would score 5 goals to Riverside's one goal in the final period to make the final score 9-7. The Crusaders opened the period with three quick goals: Mueller unassissted at 11:05 and at 10:02, and Jared Donabedian unassisted at 8:23, making it 7-6 Gibbons. The Pirates added their final goal of the night at 7:41 as Sterling came around the right side of the goal from behind and forced in a score unassisted to tie the game 7-7. Gibbons scored two more down the stretch, with Mueller scoring on an Eddie Kiernan assist at 4:45 and Mueller scoring again at 2:28 on an Enzweiler assist. |
| Pirates go 0-2 on Spring Break trip RHS falls to Bishop Sullivan 6-7 and Williamsburg LC 4-9 |
| Posted April 8, 2008, 4:15 p.m. The Riverside Pirates played two games on their annual Spring Break trip, falling to Bishop Sullivan Catholic School 6-7 on April 2, 2008, and coming out on the short end against the Williamsburg Lacrosse Club by a score of 4-9 on April 4, 2008.
The familiar tandem of Alex Spathis from Carson Sterling opened the scoring for Riverside as Spathis took a feed from Sterling and scored at 11:46 of the first period. The Crusaders tied it up with an unassisted goal at 11:00, tying the game at 1-1 as the first period ended. The Pirates got two goals in the second period as the RHS defense kept the Crusaders off the board entirely in the second period. At 11:02 Sterling scored on a Clayton Abbott assist, and at 1:01 Sterling scored unassisted to make it 3-1 at the half. Riverside outscored the Crusaders again in the third period, which has traditionally been a weak one for the Pirates this season. They scored twice to Sullivan's single goal to take a 5-2 lead into the final period. The Crusaders had made it a 3-2 game at 9:25 of the third period, but a Sterling unassisted goal at 10:15 and a Mike Schwartz unassisted goal at 4:20 gave the Pirates a three-goal cushion. But the Pirates saw their scoring edge erased in the final period as they gave up five goals and scored only one. The Crusaders reeled off goals at 11:32, 10:29, 6:44, 4:31 and 3:25 before Clayton Abbott brought them to within on with only 15 seconds remaining in the game, making the final Crusaders 7 and Pirates 6. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 13 saves in the game while Clark Harrison led the Pirates in ground balls with 6 and LBCs with 4.
The Warriors put the game away in the next two periods as they outscored Riverside 5-0. They scored at 10:44 and 9:06 of the second period, and at 10:37, 8:56 and 3:45 of the third period. WLC went scoreless in the final period, but their margin was enough to claim the win. Riverside scored two goals in the final period, as Spathis scored on a Peter Ratcliffe assist at 9:00 in the man-up, and again on a Ratcliffe assist at 5:30, making the final 9-4. Bryan Rooney had 9 saves against the Warriors while Zack Brown led in ground balls with five. Mike Schwarts won 7 of 17 faceoffs for the Pirates. |
| Whirlies upend Riverside 13-10 Grimsley comes from behind, outscoring RHS 11-5 in second half |
| Posted Mar. 29, 2008, 2:40 p.m. The Riverside Pirates played some of their crispest lacrosse in the first half against Grimsley at Riverside on March 27, 2008, leading at halftime 5-2. But the Whirlies had a 6-0 third period to ensure the win for the visitors from Greensboro.
At 10:59 of the second period Grimsley's Kevin Depopas made it 3-2. The Pirates went back up 2 at 8:42 as David Swift scored on a Sterling assist, making it 4-2. Alex Spathis made it 5-2 Riverside on a Sterling assist at 5:27, giving Riverside at 3-goal lead at the half. But the third period was all Grimsley, as they scored six unanswered goals to take the lead 8-5. Scoring for the Whirlies were Kevin Jacobs unassisted at 11:03, Jacobs again unassisted at 9:56 in the extra-man, Matt Spangler unassisted at 9:20, Jakupi unassisted at 7:34, Depopas unassisted at 6:34 and Jacobs unassisted at 2:38. The teams each scored five goals in the final period. Grimsley started it off with two in succession, Spangler from Jacobs at 11:39 and Depopas unassisted at 10:58 to make it 10-5 Grimsley. Sterling scored two unassisted for Riverside to make it 10-7, one at 10:28 and the other at 5:18. Clayton Abbott's unassisted goal at 4:33 in the extra-man pulled Riverside to within two goals, 10-8, but Grimsley answered with two quick goals to make it 12-8 as Jacobs scored unassisted at 4:03 and Kyle Priestly scored on a Jacobs assist at 3:11. Alex Spathis made it 12-9 at 1:11 with an unassisted goal, but Grimsley responded with an unassisted Spangler goal at 1:05, making the score 13-9. Riverside's Robert Walton made the final score 13-10 as he scored on a Sterling assist with 3 seconds remaining in the game. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 13 saves in the game. Zack Brown and Mike Schwarts led in groundballs with 4 each, and Jackson Marshall led in LBCs with 4. |
| Durham Academy downs Pirates 8-4 Scoreless first half dooms Riverside against Cavaliers |
| Posted Mar. 29, 2008, 2:00 p.m. The Riverside Pirates have been starting strong and tailing off late this year, but they reversed that trend at Durham Academy on March 25, 2008, going scoreless in the first half and eventually losing to the crosstown Cavaliers 8-4.
The teams traded possessions without scoring for nearly 7 minutes of the second period, but at 5:14 Fowler scored on an assist from David Hey to make it 3-0. Less than a minute later DA's No. 2 (sorry, don't have his name) scored unassisted at 4:12 to make it 4-0 at the half. Riverside finally got on the board at 8:29 of the third period as Carson Sterling scored unassisted on a left-handed shot to make it 4-1. Then, at 4:40, Alex Spathis scored on a Mike Schwartz assist to bring the Pirates to within two, 4-2. But with only a couple minutes remaining in the third period DA jammed in two goals to go up 6-2. First, at 3:21, DA's No. 2 scored on an assist from James King, who picked up a ball dropped in front of the crease, to make it 5-2. Then Derian added another unassisted at 2:51 to take away the momentum the Pirates had from their two-goal spurt. Both teams added two goals each in the final period, ensuring the DA win. Riverside's Spathis picked up a loose ball on the crease and scored at 7:32, making it 6-3. But DA added two goals in succession, a left-hander by Fowler at 4:15 and a goal by Hey on a Fowler assist at 3:27 to make it 8-3. Riverside's Sterling added a final goal for Riverside at 1:06 to make the final 8-4. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 11 saves in the game. Spathis led in groundballs for the Pirates with 5, and Jackson Marshall led in LBCs with 4. |
| Pirates fall to Laney 4-3 in 2OT Riverside led early in the contest but couldn't hang on |
| Posted Mar. 29, 2008, 1:50 p.m. The Riverside Pirates led 3-1 at halftime in this defensive battle, but the Laney Bucs came from behind to force two overtimes, scoring the winning goal with only 8 seconds left in the second extra period.
The Pirates had two EMO opportunities of their own in the first period but couldn't score during either, ending the half with a 3-0 lead over the visitors from Wilmington. At 10:26 of the second period Riverside made it 3-0 as Spathis scored, again on an assist from Peter Racliffe. That goal was set up by a yard-sale takeaway by Jackson Marshall at 10:26. The teams traded possessions for most of the rest of the period before Laney got on the board at 3:34 as James Cook scored unassisted, making it 3-1 Riverside at the half. It didn't take the Bucs long to add another goal, this one from Tyler Stanwood unassisted at 10:22, making it 3-2. At 3:21 of the third period Laney tied it up 3-3 on an unassisted goal by Brian Webb on a shot that was screened from Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney, who ended the game with 11 saves. Three of those saves were made in the final period as Riverside managed to keep Laney out of the net during regulation. Neither team mounted much of a threat in the first overtime period, nor for the first 3:52 of the second. But with only 8 seconds remaining in the second extra period, Laney's Travis Allard scored unassisted to end the game. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 11 saves against Laney. David Swift led in groundball for the Pirates with 10, and Mike Schwartz led in LBCs with 3. |
| East Chapel Hill downs Riverside 7-3 Pirates keep it close until late in the final period |
Posted Mar. 19, 2008, 11:00 p.m.
The Riverside Pirates used excellent defense and good ball possession to stay within two goals of East Chapel Hill for three periods on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, but three fourth-quarter goals by the Wildcats sealed the deal for the visitors from East.
For East, Scot Meyer and Thomas Meyer each had two goals. Nick Vitali, Tom St. Geme and Ryan Lucey each added one goal. Lucey had two assists, and Matt Shaban, St. Geme and Scott Elkins each had one assist. East goalie McKenzie Turvey had 6 saves. East got on the scoreboard first at 10:22 of the first period as Vitali got the rebound after a great save by Rooney and put the ball back in the net. The Pirates managed to keep possession of the ball for most of the next seven minutes, but at 3:33 Scot Meyer shot a laser into the top left of the net over Rooney's right shoulder to make it 2-0. In the second period RHS again managed long possessions but managed few shots during their time with the ball. At 4:55, while they were in the extra-man, East scored on an unassisted goal by Thomas Meyer, who intercepted an outlet pass and put the ball into the net, making it 3-0 at the halftime break. At 7:53 of the third period, St. Geme scored on a Shaban assist to make it 4-0. Riverside finally got on the board at 4:08 as Spathis scored on a Sterling assist. They added another one with 32 seconds remaining in the period as Sterling scored on a Schwartz assist while Riverside was in the man-up after an East pushing call, making it 4-2 after three periods. At 9:13 of the final period East made it 5-2 as Scot Meyer scored on a St. Geme assist. That was answered two minutes later as Spathis again scored on a Sterling assist to make it 5-3 at 7:51. But East made it a three-goal lead again at 6:19 when Thomas Meyer scored on a Lucey assist, making it 6-3. And at 2:21 Lucey scored on an assist from Elkins, making the final score 7-3. |
| AACS wins annual match vs. RHS 10-9 Pirates lose 3-goal lead to Annapolis Christian Eagles |
| Posted Mar. 17, 2008, 1:40 p.m. The Riverside Pirates came from behind and raced to a 7-4 lead over the Annapolis Area Christian School Eagles on Saturday, March 15, 2008, but let it dwindle away as the annual visitors from Annapolis squeaked out a 10-9 win.
The Eagles tied the game at 9:12 as Trainor scored again from the crease on an assist from D.J. Wayne. They went up 3-2 at 8:26 as Scott Connolly scored on a James Baden assist. Riverside's Sterling tied the game at 7:56 on an unassisted goal, weaving his way past two defenders to force in a goal, making it 3-3. At 5:39, Riverside's Clayton Abbott gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead on an assist from Alex Rand, neither team scored the rest of the first period. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 4 of his 15 saves in the first period, helping keep the Pirates in the game in the early going. At 8:31 of the second period, Abbott let go of a hard shot from 10 yards to score unassisted and make the score 4-3, Riverside. A lack of defensive acumen at the 6:13 mark of the second period elicited the first "God bless America!" from Coach Jim Kirkley for the 2008 season, but it wasn't the last one to be heard by the sun-drenched crowd on this day. Six more saves by Rooney in the second period kept the Eagles at bay, but with only 1:16 left in the half big Gill Trainor again victimized the Pirates on an assist from Connolly, making it 5-4 Riverside at the half. Many in the RHS crowd noticed the similarity in Trainor and former RHS player Doug Cook (now at the U.S. Military Academy), who also was a tall attackman who could shoot down on a goalie. The Pirates opened the second half on a roll, scoring twice in the first minute of play. First, Sterling fought his way to the goal for an unassisted score at 11:29 following a Mike Schwartz faceoff win, and then at 11:02 he did it again unassisted to make it 7-4 Riverside. The Eagles didn't take long to pull back to within two goals as at 9:35 Soldano scored unassisted to make it 7-5. Riverside pulled back to a three-goal lead at 7:25 as Sterling scored on a Schwartz assist, on a possession made possible by a snag of an Eagle pass by LSM Jackson Marshall. AACS again pulled to within two goals as they scored with only 21 seconds remaining in the third period, making it 8-6 Riverside going into the final 12 minutes. While it was Riverside that came out hot after the half, the Eagles came out smokin' in the final period. They scored three straight to take the lead 9-8, with Trainor scoring on a Soldano assist at 8:40, Cody Thomas scoring on a D.J. Wayne assist at 6:52 and Soldano scoring on a high frozen-roper at 6:29. The Pirates tied it up at 5:26 as Alex Spathis scored on a Clayton Abbott assist, but the Eagles took the lead for good at 4:36 as Connolly scored unassisted to make the final 10-9 Eagles. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 15 saves on the day. Eagles goalie Jason Bowen had 5 saves. |
| JHS edges RHS 4-3 in defensive struggle Falcons score all 4 goals in first three periods, hold on for win |
| Posted Mar. 17, 2008, 1:20 p.m. The Riverside Pirates came out of the gate quickly against the Jordan Falcons on Friday, March 14, 2008, running to a 2-0 lead, but they couldn't hold on as the Falcons grabbed the lead in the second period and didn't give it up.
Nifong tied the score at 2-2 at 10:21 on an assist from Matt Love, and then Dave Alpert put Jordan ahead 3-2 at 10:05 with Riverside a man down due to an illegal-stick penalty. Neither team could manage a score the rest of the period. Jordan went up two goals, 4-2 at 6:06 as Nifong scored again unassisted to cap Jordan's scoring for the night. It turns out it was enough as the Pirates could add only one more in the fourth quarter as Spathis and Sterling hooked up again to make it 4-3 Jordan. The Pirates had their chances to tie the game, getting possession at 1:41. At 1:29 Jordan goalie Ben Diehl stopped a hard shot by Riverside's Clayton Abbott that preserved the one-goal margin for Jordan. After the Falcons threw the ball out of bounds at 1:13 the Pirates had another chance to tie, but they threw it out of bounds with 41 seconds remaining. They got it back with 17 seconds remaining but couldn't mount a threat as the time ran out. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 17 saves in the game. Jordan's Diehl had 5 saves. |
| Apex Cougars maul Pirates 17-5 RHS keeps it close for a half but 8-0 third period clinches it for Apex |
| Posted Mar. 17, 2008, 12:50 p.m. The Riverside Pirates stayed in the same neighborhood with the Apex Cougars for 24 minutes on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, but Apex put together an 8-0 third period to put the game away, eventually winning by the margin of 17-5.
The Cougars broke the tie at 6:32 when Chris Kuntarich scored on an assist from John Szep to make it 2-1, a goal made possible by a Riverside failure-to-advance change of possession at 6:49. With Apex's Erik Nilsson and Jordan Eicher dominating faceoffs (they won every one in the first quarter and ended the night winning 24 of 31) the Cougars had ample opportunities to score, which they did again at 4:27 (Szep from Joe Nugent) and with 12.7 seconds remaining (Eicher unassisted) in the first period, making it 4-1 at the first break. Riverside's Mike Schwartz won the second-period faceoff and capitalized as Clayton Abbott scored at 11:33 to make it 4-2. Apex answered at 10:08 when Eicher scored again unassisted, and at 8:00 when Nilsson put one in the net without help to make it 6-2. Riverside responded with two unanswered as Abbott came around the back side of the goal and wouldn't be denied at 5:46, repeating the process again at 4:23 to make it 6-4 Apex, with Riverside seeming to have momentum. Apex scotched that, though, with a goal from Conner Tyo from Thomas Gregory at 2:56, making the half-time score 7-4. The Cougars made the third period one the Pirates would like to forget as they ran off eight unanswered goals to make it 15-4 at the end of the period. Scoring in that Apex blitz was Josh Suter from Kuntarich at 9:09, Nugent on a rebound garbage goal at 7:36, Nugent from Thomas at 6:54, Nugent from Thomas again at 6:18, Nugent from Tyo at 5:35, Eicher unassisted at 4:05, Kane Ateshian on a high rocket at 1:00 and Doyle unassisted with only 4.7 seconds remaining. Riverside added one goal in the final period (Jack Ratcliffe unassisted at 11:47), and Apex added two (Mike Santilli unassisted at 5:18 and Tyo unassisted at 3:47. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had 13 saves in the game. Riverside goalie Erik Summers had 1 save. Apex goalie Brian Douglass had 7 saves. |
| Pirates down NW Guilford 8-7 in OT Clayton Abbott's goal at 3:21 of overtime seals win |
Posted Feb. 29, 2008, 10:50 p.m.
But their high spirits were dashed quickly as Mike Schwartz won the rake on the overtime faceoff, allowing Abbott to pick up the ground ball and race toward the Viking goal for an unassisted game winner. As the game began it looked as if Riverside would have a field day. They scored two goals in the first 2:29, as Alex Spathis scored twice, first on an assist from Abbott at 11:27 and unassisted at 9:31, to make it 2-0 Riverside. Riverside dominated possession for the first five minutes, but the Vikings controlled the ball for most of the rest of the period. They broke through on the scoreboard at 5:33 as Mason Carper scored unassisted, making it 2-1 Riverside. Riverside goalie Bryan Rooney had five of his 10 saves in that first period as the Vikings pressed, but they could manage only the lone goal. At the other end, Viking goalie Jon Cooper had four of his 13 saves in the first period. The Vikings tied the game on a man-up goal at 4:45 of the second period. Riverside had two EMO opportunities in the second period and failed to capitalize on either. The Pirates also survived a one-minute stick penalty without giving up a score. It could have been worse. The officials first ruled it a 3-minute penalty, but changed that call when it was determined that it wasn't a pinched stick keeping the ball in the stick, but hard mesh bunched at the edges. Since that is adjustable, the ruling was changed to an illegal pocket and not an illegal stick. The half ended with the score knotted at 2-2. The Vikings took the lead on another extra-man goal, this one by Lee on an assist from Jack Gibbs, at 9:13 of the third period, having survived a two-minute penalty of their own earlier in the quarter. Spathis tied the game on an assist from freshman Carson Sterling to make it 3-3 at 7:10, but it didn't stay that way long. Only 8 seconds later Schwartz, having won the faceoff, found freshman Peter Ratcliffe open on the crease to make it 4-3 with 7:02 remaining. Northwest tied it at 4-4 at the 2:55 mark on another extra-man goal, but Riverside's Abbott made it 5-4 with 1:47 remaining as he scored unassisted. With only 17 seconds left in the third period Spathis scored his fourth goal of the night on an assist from Sterling, making it 6-4 as the fourth period began. Sterling increased that lead to 7-4 at the 8:50 mark as he grabbed a ground ball at midfield and went all the way in for the unassisted score. That gave the Pirates what seemed to be a secure lead, but the Vikings David Lee went on a run. First, he scored unassisted at 8:25 to make it 7-5, then he scored on a Gibbs assist at 5:49 to make it 7-6. The Pirates managed to hold the ball for most of the rest of regulation but couldn't get a shot. They managed to kill most of the clock, but at 1:00 they let the ball get out of the box and had to give it to the Vikings. The Vikings called timeout with 46 seconds left and with 21 remaining Riverside defenseman Zack Brown managed a takeaway to give the Pirates possession. But with 13 seconds remaining Viking goalie Cooper picked up a loose ball and ran it into the Riverside zone, passing the Lee, who scored with 6 seconds showing on the clock, sending the game into OT. The Vikings were understandably excited, while the Pirates knew they had the win in their grasp in regulation and let it slip away. But they didn't hang their heads. Schwartz, who dominated faceoffs all night, won the biggest of the game, allowing Clayton Abbott to pick up the GB and run in to score on a shot that went by Cooper into the lower right corner of the goal. |
| OPENING DAY! The Pirates join NCHSLA teams across the state in kicking off 2008 |
Posted Feb. 11, 2008, 6:45 p.m.
br> On hand were the 70-plus who came out for lacrosse this year, by far the greatest number ever at Riverside. The main course on the first day was drill, lots of drills, and running, lots of running. The Pirates have a lot to do before playing in the Tony Cullen Memorial Playday at Duke on Feb. 23, and in their first game of the year against Northwest Guilford on Leap Day, Feb. 29. In that time, there will be a lot of talent-assessing going on. Determinations on varsity and JV status will have to be made, determinations on players' strengths on offense and defense, determinations on who will play EMO (extra-man offense) and man-down defense, etc. The Pirates begin their 2008 campaign spending a lot of the early games on the road. Five of the 10 games before the Spring Break trip are away games this year. However, once they get home they will be in the friendly confines of Lennie Wrenn Stadium for six of the final nine regular-season games. There are still some vacancies on the Orange and Concession sign-up lists for games before Spring Break. Parents are encouraged to go the links on the home page and sign up for those unspoken-for games. |
| Tony Cullen Lacrosse Playday schedule Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008, Duke University |
| Location | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | 11:00 | 11:30 |
| Field One* | CG vs. DA | CG vs. JHS | DA vs. JHS | DA vs. CHHS | CHHS vs. JHS | DA vs. ECH | Closing Ceremony |
| Field Two** | CHHS vs. ECH | CHHS vs. RHS | ECH vs. RHS | CG vs. ECH | CG vs. RHS | JHS vs. RHS |
| * Field nearest the baseball field ** Field nearest the road |
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Pirates to play in Cullen Playday at Duke Schedule, teams, directions, rules, other info shown below Posted Feb. 8, 2008, 4 p.m.  The Tony Cullen Memorial Lacrosse Playday will be held on the Duke turf fields on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008. This has been a traditional start of the competitive season for the Pirates since the playday's inception seven years ago.The event honors former Duke player and coach Tony Cullen, who also was a long-time lacrosse official before succumbing to brain cancer in 2002. All proceeds of the game go to Duke University's Brain Cancer Center. This event has raised more than $15,000 in Tony Cullen's honor for the center.
• Cardinal Gibbons (CG) • Chapel Hill (CHHS) • Durham Academy (DA) • East Chapel Hill (ECH) • Jordan (JHS) • Riverside (RHS Rules • Horns on Sidelines, NOT on Endlines • Personal Fouls are FAST BREAKS • Technical Fouls are Change of possession • No Timouts • No keeping it in the box at the end • New Face-Off Rules in Effect • Bring your own water & Trainer Coaches are urged to remember this is a playday for their teams to get better, and to be kind to officials, many of whom will be new to officiating lacrosse. This will also be a training day for new officials, who are donating their time. Cost/Entry fee per team is $100. Make check payable to "DUKE '08 BT". Coaches are asked to bring checks with them the day of the event and give them to Mike Curatolo or Glenn Estacio There will be a $3 admission charge for all fans. Coffee, drinks and food will be available to purchase at the event. |
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| Posted Jan. 26, 2008, 12:02 p.m. Here is the schedule for pre-season skills and conditioning, as announced by Coach Kirkley on the forum. Captains will be handling the conditioning:
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Parents, players get 2008 marching orders Captains named, fundraising discussed at annual family dinner |
Posted Jan. 10, 2008,9:30 p.m.
Riverside Head Lacrosse Coach Jim Kirkley also announced the captains for 2008, three seniors: midfielder Sam Cordones, defenseman Zack Brown and attackman/middie Clayton Abbott.
Parents and players were also given their Mulch Madness packets, which include order forms for the 2008 fundraising campaign. This year's goal, said 2008 Mulch Madness director Kevin Harrison, is for each player to sell 100 bags of high-grade hardwood mulch. Each bag is 2 cubic feet and costs $3.50. Last year, more than 5,000 bags were sold, giving the team money to upgrade the varsity uniforms and buy new gloves for this year. Organizers are hopeful they can raise between $7,000 and $9,000 this year. Forms must be turned in by Feb. 11. Mulch delivery day is March 1. Coach Kirkley announced that this year's spring break trip will be to Virginia Beach, site of at least two trips in the past. The team will play two games, one on April 2 and another on April 4. The trip will also include visits to Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. Players will return on the evening of April 5. As usual, parents are encouraged to accompany the team on the spring break trip. Historically, the trip has been a good opportunity for parents to get to know each other and learn what it means to be part of the Riverside Lacrosse Family. Practice officially begins on Feb. 11, but conditioning will start sooner than that. Coach Kirkley said a schedule for conditioning will be posted in a week or so.
Mark Abbott announced that t-shirts and Boathouse jackets are for sale. Anyone seeking to buy apparel should obtain a form, fill it out and send it to him (more info on this later). |
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RHS pre-season family dinner Jan. 10 Annual family gathering is 6:30 p.m. at Grey Stone Baptist Church |
Posted Jan. 2, 2008, 2:00 p.m.
All Riverside parents, alums, supporters past and present are invited to the annual Riverside lacrosse family dinner and fundraiser kickoff on Thursday, Jan. 10, at 6:30 pm, at Grey Stone Baptist Church in the dining hall (church basement). Grey Stone is located at 2601 Hillsborough Road.The event will be a good kickoff to the spring season, plus, since a parents' meeting is required prior to the season, this will qualify as that. Coach Kirkley will discuss the coming season, the mulch sale and the spring-break trip. Folks are asked to bring food using the following formula: Last name A-H: Bring a main dish Last name J-R: Bring a side dish Last name S-Z: Bring a dessert Drinks, paper products and ice will be provided. |
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