By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – The Red Raider field hockey team has been undefeated in conference play this season and leads the East Division with its 6-0 record (6-2 overall).
The girls beat Holy Spirit twice, 10-0 on Oct. 2 and again last Wednesday, Oct. 28, by a 9-0 score.
Against Spirit last week, Tara McNally was on fire, scoring 5 of the team’s 9 goals. (McNally had a 5-goal game in the win over Lower Cape May Regional, scored 3 against Atlantic City and had 4 assists in the first win over Holy Spirit.)
Nya Gilchrist, Katie Bowman, Carly Hanin and Sophia Ruh also scored in the Oct. 28 game. Ruh and Alexis Smallwood had two assists and Olivia Vanesko and Morgan Decosta had an assist apiece.
“She’s been dominant for us all season,” coach Kelsey Burke said of McNally, “and was able to find the back of the cage Wednesday night. We were feeding off or her. She has been a contributor since her freshman season so I’m happy to see what she’s capable of this year.”
Bowman, one of the seniors, came up from her deep defensive position to score against Holy Spirit.
“She wanted that one real bad,” Burke said. “Katie is on our attacking corners, but [the goal] wasn’t off a corner. She intercepted a ball around midfield … and just kept going. There was space for her to go so she went to goal and took a shot and scored.”
The coach complimented her entire senior class as “great leaders this entire season. They’re a tight-knit group. They’ve all been contributing since their sophomore year. By their example, they’ve been great role models for us on and off the field.”
Those seniors include Bowman, McNally, Gilchrist, Decosta, Theresa Grimley, Ruh, Smallwood and Chelsea Stack.
Only Hammonton in the North Division is undefeated in the conference, but has one tie. The Blue Devils are 5-0-1. Our Lady of Mercy Academy leads the West Division with a 5-1 record.
The closest competitor in the East is Middle Township, sporting a 6-1-1 record.
The Panthers have proven one of the toughest competitors in the division so far. The Red Raiders won their contest against Middle Township 1-0 on Oct. 21, and Ocean City’s goal didn’t come until the fourth period.
The Red Raiders’ only losses were in out-of-conference play to Haddonfield, 3-2, on Oct. 17, and to Shore, 3-1, on Saturday.
Today (Nov. 4), the Red Raiders are at Atlantic City and at 10 a.m. Saturday they will host rival Mainland on the artificial turf at Carey Stadium in a rematch. The Mustangs trailed Ocean City 2-0 in their Oct. 10 meeting, but stormed back in the final six minutes to score twice to send the game to overtime, before falling, 3-2. That was on the grass field at Mainland Regional High School.
The Red Raiders will travel to Lower Cape May at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11 and then will be at Middle Township for a rematch at 4 p.m. Nov. 12.
Through Saturday, the Ocean City girls have recorded five shutouts and outscored their opponents 45-7.
Overall, Burke has been pleased with her team’s play.
“I think we’re really focusing on ourselves and making sure that we’re taking care of what we need to take care of every day and just trying to get better in each practice and in each game,” she said.
Because of the pandemic-shortened season, field hockey teams will be playing to a sectional final. However, the sectional groups have been restructured and it is unclear right now what teams will be included in each section.