Girls soccer: Avon deals with rain, blanks Rocky River

AVON — Good teams can overcome adversity, great teams use it to their advantage. The skies opened up with a heavy downpour just minutes before the kickoff of Wednesday's non-league clash between Avon and Rocky River and while some teams might need time to adjust to the slick field, the Eagles took advantage of the situation and scored 36 seconds into the game on their way to a 4-0 win over the Pirates. At first glance it looked like Avon's star forward Sydney Thomas was in the right place at the right time when a Pirates defender misplayed a header but Thomas said the result of the play was actually due to the field vision her teammate Campbell O'Malley who played the ball to just the right spot to create a scoring opportunity. "Campbell played an amazing ball over the top of the defender and I knew it was coming because we play club together and we're very in sync," Thomas said. "I started my run early and luckily it was raining and it slipped off the defenders head. I got a touch on it, the goalie didn't come out and just placed it right where I wanted to." Junior Paige Millet added a goal in the 14th minute and the Eagles never looked back as they improved their record to 3-0. "Getting the ball forward and connecting on passes is a big part of our game," said Millet, who also had a assist. "We have a strong defensive line so if we can play through the defense and up the middle I think anything can work." Although Thomas scored her sixth goal of the season in the 50th minute it was the Eagles defense that were the stars of the game holding Rocky River (0-1-2) to three shots on goal, one of which came in the closing seconds of the match. "We have a really strong defensive line, all of our players are so talented," Millet said. "This team wouldn't be the team we are without them." Avon coach Attila Csiszar challenges his team with one of the area's toughest non-league schedules and so far the Eagles have risen to the occasion outscoring Bay, Chagrin Falls and Rocky River by a combined score of 10-2 and showing improvement with every win. "The girls were on fire today, they looked nice," Csiszar said. "Today was beautiful. The spacing was great, the ball movement was fantastic and every one was on the same page. The movement off ball, the way we attacked the ball, we looked like a totally different team since Friday. We just have to keep grinding." Senior Izzy Cesare added a goal for the Eagles in the 75th minute to close out the scoring. Goalkeeper Haylee Ostrander made three saves on her way to recording the second clean sheet of the season for the Eagles. Rocky River has been one of the premier programs in Ohio this decade advancing to the state tournament four of the past five years but with only six seniors on this year roster the Pirates are a team still searching for their new identity. "It's about where you're going to be at the end," Rocky River coach Patrick Hopkins said. "We're learning a lot about ourselves. We've just got to get it together and we'll be fine. I enjoying working with this team and I'm excited to see where they're going to go at the end of the year." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Avon 4, Rocky River 0 GOALS: (A) Sydney Thomas (1st minute, 50th minute), Paige Millet (14th minute), Izzy Cesare (76th minute) ASSISTS: (A) Campbell O'Malley, Anna Rockich, Miller SAVES: (RR) Audrey Spurlock 13, (A) Haylee Ostrander 3. SHOTS ON GOAL: Rock River 3, Avon 17. FOULS: Rocky River 5, Avon 3. CORNER KICKS: Rocky River 1, Avon 5. OFFSIDES: Rocky River 1. HALFTIME: Avon, 2-0.