CAL champions fall to top-seeded Clearview in 1-0 defensive battle
MULLICA HILL – The Ocean City High School field hockey team’s season came to a close on an unseasonably warm, sunny afternoon Monday.
The Red Raiders fell to top-seeded Clearview Regional High School (19-2) in the semifinals of the South Jersey Group III sectional tournament.
Ocean City, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, outshot the Pioneers in a defensive struggle between the two teams where both had an almost impossible time finding the net.
A first-quarter goal at the 4:37 mark by Clearview’s Darian DeLeo ended up being the only score of the game. Pioneer goalie Christina Unger made 14 saves and her defense kept the Red Raiders from getting a lot of clean looks at the goal. Ocean City’s defense was stingy as well in not allowing many open shots on goal; Red Raider goalie Taryn Dolka recorded 6 saves.
The Red Raiders had oppxnrtunies, with 8 penalty corners to Clearview’s 3, but couldn’t convert.
“I think our team from first half to second half played a different game,” Ocean City coach Kelsey Burke said. “I think first half we came out a little timid and at halftime made some adjustments and talked about it. In the second half, I thought we were much more aggressive, much more confident and comfortable looking out on the field. I think that was a big difference for us.
“We feel good about the second half, we don’t feel great about the first half,” she added.
What the team can take away on the positive side is a 14-4-2 record and a tournament title.
“We were first-ever (Cape-Atlantic League) tournament champs. That’s a big one,” Burke said. “We were co-champs for the regular season. That was our first goal we set this year, which was win the conference, which we accomplished.”
Although the players were dejected after the playoff loss, after cruising through the first two rounds, she told them “to be proud of what we did this season. Be proud of the fact that although we didn’t feel great about how we started the game, but we do feel good about how we ended it even though the result was not there. To make the changes and play with some fire, I think it showed a lot of heart.”
Asked about standout players from the game, the coach said, “I thought Andi (Helphenstine) played a great game in the back, coming up with tackle after tackle.
Helphenstine is a senior. She said she couldn’t believe how fast the season flew by.
“I’m very proud of the way we rallied back,” she said of the playoff game. “That was a quick first-half goal from them but we never gave up after that. It was evident in the way the score never changed after that. It was a very close game and that is something we can be proud of today.”
“It’s obviously a bittersweet ending,” Helphenstine said. “We accomplished a lot this year. It’s nice to look back on that.”
Asked about advice for the underclassmen who will be returning, she said, “Everybody says it goes by so fast but you don’t realize it until you’re actually at the end. This has been the fastest season of my life.”
The Red Raiders beat Vineland 7-1 in the tournament opener with two scores each from Julia Neff and Mia Pancoast and single scores from Taylor Amstutz, Tricia Nicoletti and Ella Jefferson. In the quarterfinals, Ocean City beat Triton (15-4) 8-1. Neff had three goals in that game, Sam Seligsohn had two and Pancoast, Amstutz and Brooke Hanley had one each.
Neff, a junior, finished the season with a team-leading 20 goals, and Nicoletti, a senior, ended with 18 goals. Pancoast, a junior, had 9 goals; Hanley had 8, Helphenstine and Amstutz, a junior, had 5 each; Kate Cossaboon, a junior, and Seligsohn, a senior, had 2 each. Juniors Kelsea Cooke, Julianna Duff and Bri Fabi had 1 goal each as did Ellie Kutschera, a senior.
Dolka, a sophomore, recorded 127 saves this season.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff