LINWOOD – On Monday, the only difference between the 5-0 Ocean City boys soccer team and the 0-6 Mainland Regional squad was a tough, in-traffic goal by Tanner Bell with 25:38 left in the game.
That was good enough for the Red Raiders to remain undefeated with a 1-0 road victory over its cross-the-bay rivals. Ocean City coach Aaron Bogushefsky and Mainland coach Alex Weidman said they were not surprised by such a dogfight between two traditionally solid programs.
It was Ocean City’s second one-goal victory of the season. The Red Raiders defeated Cedar Creek 1-0 on Sept. 13. Ocean City had been having their way with opponents most of the season, averaging 4.4 goals per game while posting their third shutout.
Bogushefsky said Ocean City’s initial struggles on offense had a lot to do with Mainland’s aggressive play that left him impressed.
“You know, you have to give a lot of credit to those guys [Mainland],” Bogushefsky said. “I know the record doesn’t show it, but they got it together a little bit and they could play well. For us, it was just a matter of continuing to play hard.
“It is a rivalry game so as the saying goes, you can throw the records out of the window at this point. They really wanted to beat us and we wanted to beat them. I think you saw that type of game today.”
Both teams had their chances, but outstanding plays in goal by Ocean City goalie Logan Smith and Mainland goalie Jeff Thomas kept the contest scoreless for most of the game.
After battling to a 0-0 draw in the first half, the Red Raiders got the game-winner with nearly 15 minutes gone in the second half. The scoring play did not look like it would generate a goal at first with bodies piled up in front of the Mainland goal.
Bell, though, was able to beat others to a ball inside the penalty box and punch it in past Thomas to the celebration of his Red Raiders teammates. The hard-fought goal, in which John Leap was credited with the assist, came as a huge sigh of relief for Ocean City.
“It was hard getting a goal today,” Bell said. “I finally saw my opportunity. I kind of ran in on the corner kick and just went as hard as I could and ended up hitting it. I pushed the guy in front of me a little bit into it and the ball just went in.
“When it’s a rival match like this, it will always be competitive. You know that going in and you always believe it’s going to be a good game between us.”
Bogushefsky said it was a matter of his team staying with the game plan and trusting they would make a breakthrough somewhere down the line.
“That score came on a corner kick,” the coach said. “He just broke in on the bounce. It was a matter of being the first one to the ball. We had a lot of other chances that probably should have gone in compared to that one. That was just the one that did go in for us and we’ll be happy with that.”
On the flip side, Mainland has struggled to put the ball in the net. Monday was the third time the Mustangs have been shut out this season. In its three other losses, Mainland has managed one goal each.
“I thought for a long time we played them toe-to-toe and held them scoreless,” Weidman said. “We were keeping the ball and keeping possession. But [Bogushefsky] is a great coach and they made adjustments and we have to be able to adjust to their adjustments.
“We’re still trying to find our way. We have a lot of first-time varsity starters. You have to credit them with doing a nice job of making those adjustments and finding a way to get the win. I thought, though, for the first 60 minutes or so, we played right there with them.
“We had a good game plan and the boys executed that game plan, which is something that we’ve been preaching this season. We will take that as a positive, and I know that’s weird to say being 0-6. We’ll take that as a positive today.”
Mainland’s coach said Thomas was exceptional in batting away repeated Ocean City scoring opportunities.
“He stood on his head for us today,” Weidman said. “He was great. I don’t know if he even realizes how good he can be and is at times when he played like he did today. He’s got such great reaction time and he challenges shots. He’s a special player and kid and hats off to him today for keeping us in the game.”
Weidman said, though, he feels like it is just a matter of time, and a little bit of good luck before the ball starts bouncing the Mustangs’ way. Of their six losses, four have been by one goal as Mainland continues to play solid enough defense to keep them in games.
Bogushefsky said at the end of the day, it was a good boost for his squad to remain undefeated going into the rest of the week.
“It feels good to be 5-0 at this point,” Bogushefsky said. “We hadn’t been tested up to this time so this proved to be a good game and a good test for us. We’ve had a couple of good Cape-Atlantic League challenges so far. We’re hoping to just keep building on what we’re doing.”
Mainland will get another shot at their rivals on Oct. 5 in Ocean City. In the meantime, Ocean City finishes out the week with two home games, Thursday against Life Center and Friday against Absegami.
The Mustangs are at Absegami on Wednesday before returning home to play Oakcrest on Friday.
By CLYDE HUGHES/Special to the Sentinel
