River needed just less than two minutes to score its earliest goal of the season in route to a 7-0 victory over Lutheran West. Junior Chase DeClerck put classmate Nate Keeling into space down the right wing, and his deep cross was headed home by classmate Gold Rrustemaj for the 1-0 lead. Rrustemaj laid back a ball for DeClerck to control, shimmy, and then fire home with his left foot in the 26' to make it 2-0. The lead jumped to 3-0 after Keeling sent in a nearly identical cross in the 35' for sophomore Hogan Kern to head home. Second half goals came from senior Athan Tsigas (penalty kick), sophomore Emmanuel Loizos (cleaned up trash on a corner kick), and junior Michael Triplett (poked in a 1v1). The shutout was senior co-captain Connor O'Toole's eight of the season and improved the team to 10-5-2 on the season.

The win gives the Pirates their 24th Sectional Title, dating back to 1986, when the OHSAA re-configured their playoff brackets. The boys are on a current streak of 11 Sectional Championships in a row, dating back to 2009, and the team hasn't lost its first playoff game since 2004.

Next up for River is a trip to #2-seed Buckeye for a match on Tuesday night, 22 October at 7pm.

The Pirates wrapped up their Great Lakes Conference schedule the best way possible - with two shutout victories. Varsity defeated the host Invaders 2-0 with both of goals coming in the second half. Senior Andrew Fry scored the first, with a penalty kick two minutes after half. Junior Chase DeClerck scored the second, as his rip from 20 yards out went through the goalie's hands and into the net. The win is the Pirates' third 2-0 this season, the most since 2013 when the team had four.

The JV team won 4-0 behind goals from freshmen Charlie Russell and Fionn Harte, and sophomores Jack Bowers and Emmanuel Loizos. Varsity's record is now 9-4-2 overall and 6-2 in GLC, which locks up third place. JV is 4-9-1 overall and 4-2 GLC.

Varsity's recent roller coaster of results continued with a 2-2 draw at Lutheran West. Despite being in control of possession through the first half, River only scored one goal. Senior Andrew Fry latched onto a pass from junior Chase DeClerck and finished to the near post in the 6'. That was the third 3-to-12 goal in the last four games for the Pirates. The home side tied the game in the 50' and then DeClerck scored a goal of his own to put the visitors back on top. In the 68', the Longhorns got their second goal of the game, and despite River putting tons of pressure on the L-W backline and goal, a third goal wasn't in the offing. The result takes Varsity to 7-4-2.

Next up for both Rivers teams is a Great Lakes Conference visit from Parma on Wednesday, 2 October. JV plays at 5pm and Varsity kicks at 7pm, with a Senior Night ceremony to precede that contest.

Visiting Lexington scored two goals in each half en route to a 4-0 victory over our Varsity, while JV lost 5-0. Both Minutemen teams were more physical than the Pirates, and that caused a lot of the problems the teams were encountering in both games. 

Not only did RRBS get its second double-win of the season, but it was also the Pirates' second double conference win of the season. Varsity defeated Valley Forge 2-1 in a game that it controlled for the majority of the 80 minutes, but that only saw them score the pair of goals. Senior Athan Tsigas created the first goal in the 23rd minute when his goal-bound shot during a corner kick scrum struck the hand of a Patriot defender. Classmate Andrew Fry struck the ball hard to the goalie's right and underneath his save attempt. Two minutes later, Tsigas created another penalty kick with another poke pass that hit a defender's arm. Junior Chase DeClerck smoked his shot high to the keeper's left, but he was able to make the save. River's second goal came with about ten minutes left in the game, when junior Conor McKenna latched onto a give-n-go pass from Gold Rrustemaj and then drove into the visitors' penalty area, before his left-footed shot ricocheted in off a defender's leg. Valley Forge nicked a goal with four minutes left, but the result was never in question.

River's JV won a see-saw 3-2 contest. Freshman Charlie Russell scored in the first half to give Coach Mike Moore's boys a 1-0 lead they held until seven minutes after half. Valley Forge scored in the 41st and 58th minutes to take a 2-1 lead. Sophomore Diego Norena dribbled through most of the Patriot defense a minute after VF's second to knot the match at 2-2, and then the recent transfer from the Chicago headed home the game-winner after much goal-mouth chaos to give the Maroon & White the win.

V is now 4-2-1 and 2-1-0 GLC, while JV is now 2-5 and 2-1-0. Next up are the Bay games - JV plays at Bay HS on Monday at 5pm, while V hosts the Rockets on Wednesday, 11 Sept at 5pm. The girls respective teams will play their Bay counterparts at 7pm both nights.

Kicking off the season with an extremely rare Friday Night Fútbol game, the Pirates traveled to Orange High School for the first time since 2007. Varsity came from behind to earn a 2-1 win, which gives River eight wins in season-openers this decade. The home side got their goal in the 19th minute, after a thorough ball led to a 1v1 between the Orange attacker and River goalkeeper Connor O'Toole. The senior made the initial save, but the rebound landed at the feet of the Lions' forward, and he shot home into an open goal for the 1-0 lead. Five minutes after halftime, senior Andrew Fry smashed home a penalty kick, awarded for a handball in the box, to knot the score. Three minutes later, Fry drove a long free kick from midfield that junior Chase DeClerck nodded past the onrushing Orange goalie to give River the 2-1 advantage. O'Toole, the 2018 Great Lakes Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, made eight important saves to help the visiting team get the win.

JV was defeated 3-2, with both goals coming from sophomore Mark Quaiser. The first was a penalty kick he converted in the 32nd minute and the second was a 40-yard lob over the Lions' goalie with three minutes remaining in the match.