LINWOOD – The Mustang field hockey team kept the Caper Tiger goalie busy all afternoon Sept. 19 on the way to beating Lower Cape May 3-1.
Mainland won their first two games of the season against Atlantic City and Oakcrest, but recently fell to Holy Spirit. The bounce-back win versus Lower Cape May brought the Mustangs’ record to 3-1 on the season after the game.
Offensively the Mustangs were dominant with the team taking 16 shots on goal. The continued onslaught left the Tigers only a few opportunities on offense and held them to 4 shots.
“We had possession for most of the first quarter and most of the first half. We had a lot of scoring opportunities, but we could not capitalize on them,” Mainland head coach Erin O’Connell said after the game.
After a quick first quarter, Mainland continued the pressure with 5 shots on goal but failed to score on any of them.
Sophia Sharp got Lower Cape May on the board late in the second quarter. After a corner shot to put the ball in play, members of both teams were fighting for possession directly in front of the goal. The stalemate was broken by Sharp, who got a shot off through the scrum and put the Tigers ahead 1-0.
The Tigers came out swinging in the second half, getting three corner opportunities. Senior Kaitlyn Stanchina and the defense stood strong, with Stanchina blocking a good-looking shot. Mustang junior goaltender Emma Tomlin stopped the other goal attempts with ease.
Midway through the third quarter the Mustangs were finally able to capitalize on their attack. Junior Michaela Werber centered the ball off a corner shot and set up junior Aryanna Perez for the goal.
Tied 1-1, the Mustangs were able to pull ahead right before the fourth quarter thanks to their leading goal scorer, Elaina Dinofa. The junior forward fought through multiple people in front of the Tiger goalie to score the go-ahead goal.
Asked after the game about her team’s second-half adjustments, O’Connell said, “We just made sure to go back to the basics. We wanted to do the little things right like staying low through our shots and filling the offensive circle.”
Dinofa has been on a tear to start this season, scoring 7 goals and 3 assists through the first four games. She was the Mustangs’ leading scorer last season and is only two goals short of her total last season. She also has scored at least one in each game so far this year.
In the fourth quarter the Tigers were never able to retain possession as Mainland looked to close the game.
The Mustangs scored a late goal to put the game out of reach. Dinofa passed the ball to an open Talia DiDomenico to extend the lead to 3-1 for their team. DiDomenico is also having a big year, scoring 5 goals this season.
“Our team is meshing really well. They spend a lot of time off the field together as well, which I believe plays a role on the field as well,” O’Connell said about her team the rest of the season. “I’ve got a positive outlook on the rest of the week and season with this great team.”
Mainland plays their latest games at home on back-to-back days. The games were scheduled for Tuesday against Atlantic City and Wednesday against Buena. Game time for both is 4 p.m.