The most notable event of the Hammonton quarterfinals was seeing senior goalie Taryn Dolka surpass 500 career saves as she finished her time with the Ocean City field hockey program.
Dolka has been outstanding in the cage throughout her career, but at times has gone unchallenged because of the Red Raiders’ strong defense. A case in point was the Nov. 5 opening round when she made four saves against TRS. That had her entering Thursday’s contest against Hammonton with 498 for her career.
She quickly topped the 500 mark as the Blue Devils peppered her with shots throughout the game. Dolka made 17 saves to keep the game competitive, giving her a career total of 515 over the course of 74 games.
The Blue Devils won 5-2.
Dolka verbally committed to play field hockey for Lockhaven University in Pennsylvania.
Opening Round
The Ocean City girls kept TRS goalie Brielle Berruti busy all game; Berruti made 16 saves in the loss. Ocean City’s Stevie Wright, a sophomore, scored two goals and fellow sophomore Casey Adamson had one in the victory. Marley Dwyer was credited with an assist.
The Raiders (12-8-1) were the No. 8 seed in the tournament; TRS (11-8-1) was the No. 9 seed.
Wright has led the team in scoring this season with 14 goals (four assists), followed closely by Ella Jefferson with 12 goals (five assists). Adamson isn’t far behind with 11 goals and four assists.
Three freshmen are next up on the scoring roster. Lily Cozamanis had five goals and Lyla Clark and Dwyer four goals and two assists each. Fellow freshman Caroline Bickings had two goals and three assists and seniors Ginger Mumman and Wynne Nussey had one goal each.
Dolka made 166 saves over 20 games.
Against Hammonton
Adamson and Wright scored in the third and fourth periods after the Blue Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half, but they were matched in those quarters by goals from Hammonton. Dwyer earned an assist.
The Ocean City girls forced Blue Devil goalie Kelley Crescenzo to make nine saves as Hammonton moved on to the semifinals against No. 4 Clearview Regional.
The Blue Devils bedeviled the Raiders this season, beating them three times before the sectional tournament — twice in the regular season and then in the finals of the Cape-Atlantic League tournament.
Bright future
Ocean City coach Kelsey Burke was pleased with her team’s play against TRS, citing a solid first half against the visitors at Carey Stadium.
She noted how far the team has come with such a young squad.
“We have been playing five freshmen and two sophomores (as part of the starting lineup),” Burke said. “The seniors have done a good job of being good leaders and showing them the ropes, but they’re in it, they’re ready, they want to be part of it. They want to contribute, so it has been really positive.
“We have definitely progressed from day one until now,” she added. “A big focus has been possession and the ability to string passes together. I think that over the past few weeks we have definitely been able to do that. That is something we track on the sidelines.
“I’m just happy to see the results from the kids I am putting in,” she said.
The Raiders will lose a number of seniors to graduation, including Dolka in goal and Jefferson on attack. Other seniors who will be graduating are Madelyn Adamson, who missed the season due to an injury; Taylor Vaugh and Carlee Hiddeman, both strong players on the Red Raider softball team; Mumman, Nussey, Arden Hazlett, Lyla Ginzberg, Erin Ney, Maya Kolimaga and Makenna Fleming.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
