Bay proves to be River’s nemesis for 7th year in a row

Trailing, 1-0, in the 78th minute, No. 4 Bay added another chapter in Rocky River’s misery, stunning the top-seeded Pirates with an equalizer and an eventual 2-1 victory in a shootout in a Division II Elyria District semifinal at Rocky River Stadium on Oct. 24.

The Rockets (13-4-1) have knocked out the Pirates (14-3-1) out of the postseason for seven consecutive years.

Bay will move on to play Buckeye in the Division II Elyria District final at 7 p.m. on Oct. 28 at Roehm Middle School in Berea.

“It was just the way we drew it up,” Bay coach Bobby Dougherty joked. “We knew we were better than when we played them the

first time. I really thought we would end it in regulation. We had the momentum. River played out of their mind. They have had one of their best seasons since I have been a coach here.”

Pirates coach Kevin Zerbey was at a loss for words after witnessing his team’s best effort come up short once again.

“I have been doing this for a while. I have seen everything,” Zerbey said. “I have seen us lose pretty much any way possible to Bay in the playoffs for seven years in a row. It’s not easy at all. They’re the standard. They’re the best Division II program on the west side and probably the best Division II program in Greater Cleveland,” Zerbey said.

On a night where Bay would have many heroic efforts, senior Evan Taylor found himself with a golden opportunity. A chance to seal the victory with a not so simple penalty kick as the Rockets and Pirates were tied at 3-3 after a couple of saves from Bay goalkeeper Brent Hull and one from Rocky River’s Owen Corrigan.

In what felt like hours, Taylor gave a swift juke after his run-up and let it rip right into the back of the net past a diving Corrigan, sending the visiting Bay faithful into a frenzy.

“The run-up is one of the most nerve-wrecking things you can do,” Taylor said. You are staring the goalie in the eye. You know where you’re going but the goalie has no idea, so you just have to get lucky and pick your spot and trust yourself that you’re going to make it.

While a game-winning PK will always be attached to his name, Taylor’s effort could not have been completed without a brilliant equalizer from sophomore Kyle Cusimano in the 78th minute of play.

The memorable goal came after a flurry of missed shots from Bay, as the Rockets turned momentum around the 60th minute of play with a couple of adjustments.

“We had to make some changes. Nortz went up top. We went three up top. What we had was our three best, fastest, strongest, oneon-one players,” Dougherty said.

After a couple of near misses and beautiful saves from Rocky River’s Corrigan in the ensuing minutes, it seemed like this was finally the year that Rocky River could get past Bay. The Rocket’s had other ideas, as Cusimano found his shot when receiving the ball in the box with a swift kick to the left. It was all even at 1-1. Dougherty knew his team was getting closer and closer as the game was winding down.

“They got one,” Dougherty said.

“We were excited. You just don’t want to let it slip away like that.

In a battle of outstanding goalkeeper play, Bay’s Hull (12 saves) bested Rocky River’s Corrigan (10 saves).

Hull, like Corrigan found himself diving all around the net, desperately trying to keep his team’s season alive. He had two saves in penalty kicks.

“This means so much to us. We have 14 seniors. We play every game like it’s our last,” Hull said. “Every save was important to win this game.”

Though his team came up on the losing end, Zerbey saw a memorable night from his goalkeeper Corrigan.

“He is fantastic,” Zerbey said. “He is our conference goalkeeper of the year, and tonight he showed why. He has been a good reason behind all our success this season.”

Despite playing against the wind in their first home playoff game against the Rockets since 1975, Rocky River weathered Bay’s anticipated early attack, and answered with a strike in the 19th minute as Christian Devorace nailed it through the net off an assist from Dylan Keeling.

Rocky River held strong to their 1-0 lead in the first half, but seemed out of their game plan, going with the wind in the second half.

“I don’t know, we didn’t have a plan to go with the wind, or do this, or do that. That second-half, they were obviously all in our faces. We tried to do what we could and we almost did enough,” Zerbey said.

The Rockets continued their smothering pressure turning the table in the latter minutes and through both overtimes.

After getting crushed 5-0 in the regular season, Dougherty knew his team wanted another chance against Rocky River.

“After getting spanked, embarrassed and lit up, you knew these guys were going to want another chance. Thank goodness we did,” Dougherty said