Strongsville Mustangs Defeat Rocky River Pirates 9-5 In Closely Knit Girls Lacrosse Match

ROCKY RIVER, OH – KOS returned to Rocky River tonight for some more girls lacrosse action.  This time it was Strongsville coming into the Pirates Cove for a NOLL clash with the Pirates.  This one went the way of the road team as Strongsville prevailed 9-5, to move to 5-1 on the season, while Rocky River fell to 4-1.

It was a close game with many swings to it and a fun one to watch.  I spoke with Rocky River head coach Colleen Hile who had this to share about how a game like this, makes both team better and how the Pirates were able to keep fighting, “It is wonderful to play such great competition because you learn so much.  We take this as a learning experience on how we can get better and improve, and hopefully when we see competition like this again, we’ll come out on top,”

Coach Hile was happy how her team fought through every situation, and said this about their fight, “They can come back from a stressful situation, which is huge. They can be in a situation that wasn’t going their way, but all of a sudden boom, they can fight through and make it their own. “

I was personally blown away tonight with what I saw from Tori Wanat, Sophie Adanitsch and Alyssa Glenn of Strongsville.  Adanitsch knew how to position herself just right, while Wanat and Glenn were extremely quick and physically talented.  They had the speed of a track star and the agility of a soccer player.  Two outstanding talents in Wanat and Glenn who both had hat tricks.

Seconds into the game, Tori Wanat sped down the field like a flash to get a shot on goal.  She fired one in, but Acadia Hover made an incredible safe to keep it scoreless early.  Strongsville got it right back, but then Daisy Thompson forced a turnover to transition it back to River. The next Mustang possession resulted in a free position shot by the Mustangs that was saved again by Hover in a wild first five minutes of action.

Moments later, the Mustangs got another crack at it and connected when Sophie Adanitsch opened the scoring lid.  The assist coming from Alyssa Glenn to give the Mustangs the early lead, 1-0 with 21:13 still to play in the first. Seconds later, the Mustangs got another free position attempt, but the Glenn shot was stopped by Hover.

The Pirates felt the momentum swing with the big saves, and used it to tie the game when Grace Dewitt took an Olivia Konopka pass and found the net to even the tilt at 1, with 17:57 to play in the first. The Pirates went on to attack the net again and eventually it was Dewitt striking again, this time on a free position goal with 12:01 to play.

Grace Dewitt was on fire as she took the faceoff at midfield to the house, for her third goal of the game.  This time, it was at 11:54 to play, and just like that, River was out in front 3-1 thanks in part to the Dewitt hat trick.

Strongsville cut the lead to 3-2 as Sophie Adanitsch found the goal again at the 5:02 mark.  It came after about a 3 minute, very patient possession by the Mustangs to set up the shot. It was then time for Tori Wanat to put on a speed show as she absolutely flew down the field to score, tying it at 3 each with 3:58 to go in the first.

The momentum stuck with Strongsville as the Mustangs struck again as Alyssa Glenn helped the Mustangs reclaim the lead with a goal at the 2:12 mark.  Suddenly and swiftly, it was 4-3 Mustangs. The Mustangs struck again with 29 seconds left, as it was Glenn once more scoring. They still weren’t done however as their fifth straight goal came a second later off the stick of Tori Wanat to give them a 6-3 lead at halftime.

Down 6-3, the Pirates got a chance to get back in it, early into the second as Strongsville was hit with a yellow, lending the Pirates a brief one girl advantage for two minutes.  The Mustangs killed the penalty and kept the score at 6-3.

After an Olivia Konopka Rocky River goal at 19:47 made it 6-4, there was a freeze on scoring for the next 6 minutes until Alexis Tisler scored to make it a 1 goal game at 6-5 with 13:37 to play. A short while later, a free position goal by Grace Kunovich increased the Mustang lead back out to 2 at 7-5 with just over 10 minutes to play.

A Glenn hat trick for Strongsville made it 8-5 and put it away for good as the Mustangs went on to win 9-5 as Wanat finished it with a Hat Trick in the closing moments of the game.

Fun fact – Much like Tuesday versus Mentor, this was not the GLC vs GCC like it would have bene in Football or Basketball it is actually considered a NOLL game.  Northern Ohio Lacrosse League (NOLL)

It began in 2021 with the following schools : Avon High School, Avon Lake High School, Bay High School, Berea-Midpark High School (boys lacrosse only), Brunswick High School, Mentor High School, Olmsted Falls High School, Rocky River High School, Strongsville High School, and Westlake High School.