Ocean City boys had game tied 4-4 before Sparta pulled away
EWING – It was not the season finale the Ocean City Red Raiders had in mind when they reached the state championship, but it was a season to remember.
After a long playoff run brought them to the Group II state title game Saturday, June 13, the Raiders faced off against Sparta High School and traded blows with the Spartans throughout the game. The Spartans were the last ones standing. They took down Ocean City 9-5 on the field at The College of New Jersey.
The Raiders were put into a small deficit early but battled back to tie the game in three separate instances that led to a 4-4 scoreboard with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Ocean City’s leading scorer this season, Otter Donohue, had two goals and was followed by Charlie Beseris, who plowed through the defense to tie it up.
The turning point came directly after the Beseris goal where Sparta grabbed the reins and didn’t let up. In only a minute and a half, the Spartans racked up three goals before the quarter expired and never looked back.
Senior Jack Scherbin scored Ocean City’s first goal of the game and added an assist later in his final game of a historic season for the Raiders.
“Obviously this game is not the ending we wanted but to go out with anything to show for our season is great, winning sectionals is still a trophy in the trophy box,” Scherbin said. “We made history as the first team in five years to make the sectional final and we won it. This game does not define who we are.”
It was the second appearance in the state title game in program history for the Raiders with their first coming in the 2021 season.
Sparta’s face-off specialist Johnny Palmer scored by himself after a win in the circle and showed off his and his team’s speed in the open field.
After the game, Ocean City head coach Joe LaTorre credited Sparta’s play in transition as the deciding factor.
“We just had a little bit of a breakdown on our game plan there and we never really got a chance to get back in the game after that string of goals,” he said.
Sparta stayed in the driver’s seat in the fourth quarter and extended its run to five unanswered goals to put the Raiders down 9-4. Liam Kazmarck eventually broke the streak, but the final whistle sounded with Ocean City on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
“I told the kids one game doesn’t define you as a player or as a person and today wasn’t our day,” LaTorre said. “I’m very proud of what they’ve done this year and I couldn’t thank the coaches more for everything they’ve done. We have a great group just like a family and it’s going to be weird waking up on Monday and not going to the turf.”
Scherbin is one of a group of impact seniors who will graduate soon, but he believes the program is in an even better spot after their 2026 season set a precedent for the team moving forward.
Ocean City’s path through the playoffs started to look promising after a 9-6 win in the sectional semifinals over Allentown High School. The Raiders’ last four seasons were cut short in the sectional semifinals.
The sectional championship was a lot more challenging as Ocean City and Manasquan High School were forced into a four-overtime marathon to decide a winner. (See related story.) Timmy Windfelder made 19 total saves in the game including four in overtime to give the offense enough time to finally score. Senior Kevin Entress made the golden goal with three seconds left for the 6-5 Ocean City win that brought them to the state title game.
“I have to tip my hat to these seniors and I believe they have set the foundation for us next year to get back here and be the team out there celebrating with that trophy,” LaTorre said.
Windfelder transferred into Ocean City one month before the season started and will have most of his defensive line in front of him. On offense, Donohue will return along with attackers including Beseris and Kazmarck.
“We do graduate a lot of seniors, but we have a ton of young talent that’s ready to step in and it helps when you have a goalie like Timmy coming back,” LaTorre said. “I told the young guys we are going to be back here next year, and we will try to avenge what happened today.”
The Raiders finished the season with a 16-7 record. And as South Jersey champions.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
