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OCEAN CITY – After a rain delay, the 2024 lacrosse season has finally begun for the Ocean City Red Raiders.
Eleven different Raiders scored a goal in the season opener as they cruised past Cedar Creek High School 19-3 on April 4. After an early timeout, Ocean City scored nine consecutive goals and blew the game wide open versus the Pirates.
“It was good to get back out on the field,” Ocean City head coach Joe LaTorre said. “This group has been very resilient and has been working hard. I can’t say enough about the intensity during practices.”
Senior Charlie Schutta put the pressure on early and scored three goals in the first quarter alone. He added onto his hat trick in the second quarter and finished the game with four goals.
“We are just trying to put the ball in the back of the net,” Schutta said. “We’ve got a young defense and we value possessing the ball.”
Schutta picked up where he left off last season after he scored over 35 goals in his junior year. He is one of a couple key offensive players who returned to Ocean City this season.
Another returning star is senior Pat Grimley. Against the Pirates he led all scorers with five goals and was credited with three assists.
Last season as a junior he led the Raiders in all offensive categories and nearly scored 60 goals. A huge part of Grimley’s game proved to be his playmaking ability for his teammates. He got everyone involved as he led the Raiders in assists as well.
“We are very fortunate this year to return a decent number of offensive starters, so we are ahead of schedule than we were last year offensively,” LaTorre said, “but we are still getting better each day.”
There are a lot of new faces on the Raider defense including new goalie Henry Vaules. Vaules made his first start as goalie in the season opener after both Ocean City goalies from last season graduated. The sophomore did not see a lot of shots from Cedar Creek thanks to the Raiders’ offensive pressure.
After the season opener, Ocean City’s schedule becomes much harder as they play some of the best teams in the state.
On April 6, the Raiders hosted Ridge High School and suffered their first loss of the season by a score of 12-5. Ocean City was down 5-1 at halftime and were kept at a four-goal deficit throughout the rest of the game. Grimley scored three goals while Schutta added the final two.
Ocean City’s next game will be at home against Lower Cape May at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The Raiders’ first road game of the season will be at Lenape April 13. Game time is 1 p.m.
After the trip to Lenape the Raiders will head home and host the rival Mainland Mustangs on April 15. It will be the first of two games between the teams this season. The Raiders swept the season series last year. Game time is 5:30 p.m. at Carey Stadium.
The season opener showed off the potential of this year’s Ocean City squad. In the first half Cedar Creek only had four shots on goal while a multitude of different Raiders scored. Grimley scored the game’s first goal in 30 seconds, but Cedar Creek quickly responded to tie the game 1-1.
After an Ocean City timeout, freshman Otter Donohue broke the tie and started a long scoring run. Zio Wright intercepted a pass which led to another Grimley goal. Then Wright got a goal of his own in between the Schutta hat trick and the Raiders took complete control of the game.
Chase Labarr scored to end the first quarter with an 8-1 lead. Ocean City did not let up as Dominic Vallese scored alongside Grimley and extended the lead to 10-1 before Cedar Creek broke up the run with a score.
Immediately following the Pirate score, Ryan Hendricks made the highlight play of the game. He received the ball near the Ocean City goal and ran the entire length of the field down the left sideline. The sophomore outran the defense and shot past the goalie for the score.
Schutta scored his fourth goal right before halftime thanks to a great pass from Grimley for a 12-2 lead.
The third quarter saw Ocean City put the finishing touches on the game. Grimley scored first for the third time in as many quarters. Senior Jon Moyer racked up a goal and assist of his own while Bryce Hanin scored his first of two goals to end the quarter.
The constant scoring took pressure off the young defensive players. Ocean City controlled the ball for most of the game and did not give Cedar Creek few chances to challenge.
Hanin scored his second goal in the fourth quarter as the team let up off the gas. Ryan Southard and Luke Passarella scored a goal each to win the game 19-3.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
