SANDUSKY – Ontario girls soccer coach Larry Atkinson has taken his teams to the state Final Four twice in the last four years. His team played in the state title match last year. His Lady Warriors have won six straight district titles.
So when Atkinson tells you Rocky River is the best team he has seen… then you know the No. 1-ranked Lady Pirates are as good as advertised including a 7-0 win over Ontario on Tuesday night in the Division II regional semifinals at Cedar Point Stadium.
“As far as total team speed and skills, that’s probably the best we have ever faced,” Atkinson said. “And I am not so sure they couldn’t win Division I. They are that good. Teams like that don’t come around very often. That is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of team.”
Rocky River (19-0-1), which has gained national attention, dominated the pitch, firing 27 shots on goal to just one for Ontario (15-3-2). The Pirates jumped out quickly and led 4-0 at halftime.
“If they don’t win state, I will be extremely surprised,” Atkinson said. “They are very fast and very skilled at every single position. They have 3 or 4 girls who will be going on to play D-1 college soccer,” he said.
Even the Lady Pirate throw-ins were dangerous.
“They have a girl who can throw it from about the 20 yard line and put it right on the goal. That’s how they scored their first two goals. On a direct kick, you can push up and make them offsides. But on those throws, they can just flood everyone into the box.
“Those girls work so well together. They are constantly moving, making them very tough to defend. It’s not that we did a bad job of defending them,” said Atkinson, whose team posted 11 shutouts during the season.
Atkinson scouted Rocky River in its 1-0 district title win against 5th-ranked Holy Name. The Lady Pirates have not allowed a goal in five tournament games.
“Holy Name hunkered back and kept everyone back behind the ball. That’s the only chance they had to stay with them. That’s just not our style,” he said.
It was a tough night, especially for the eight Lady Warrior seniors, who lost just 13 matches in four seasons – Meredith Remy, Alissa Tolliver, Katie Earhart, Jayde Niss, Mackenna Papst, Lindsey Virden, Emily Dinger and Chelsea Strohm.
“They were emotional. They were upset they lost,” Atkinson said. “I told those seniors to keep their heads up and look back and see all they have accomplished in four years. No one will ever accomplish what they did in the last four years. Four district titles, two Final Fours, one state championship game. They are just a great group.”
Teams thinking the cupboard is bare next year for the Lady Warriors should think again.
“We lose five starters, but we have a very good nucleus coming back, including five freshmen that played some varsity this year and got some tournament experience. I told them this is what they want to work toward … to play the way this team did tonight.
“We will work hard in the offseason. The main thing is getting them together and getting their chemistry built up. We are fine. We will be back again next year,” Atkinson said.
“I told those seniors to keep their heads up and look back and see all they have accomplished in four years. No one will ever accomplish what they did in the last four years. Four district titles, two Final Fours, one state championship game. They are just a great group.”