LINWOOD — Ocean City sophomore Gracie Pierce fired the ball into the net less than 5 minutes into the game, opening the flood gates and leading to a 16-6 victory for the Red Raiders girls lacrosse team over the Mustangs on Thursday in Linwood.
Ocean City High School completed the season sweep, having topped Mainland Regional High School 18-5 in their first meeting April 6 on the turf at oceanfront Carey Stadium.
“We executed our game plan well. We’re in the back half of the season and already have seen most teams. There are always adjustments when you see a team a second time — they know some of your tricks, you know some of their tricks — so it’s trying to figure what game plan can we put together to come out with a team win,” OCHS head coach Lesley Graham said.
The Raiders added their second about 2 minutes later and then four more to make it 6-0 after sophomore Delainey Sutley netted a grounder at 9:01.
Graham said that despite the Red Raiders’ quick start, she was wary of a Mustang comeback — the teams battled it out last season in Ocean City, with the Raiders taking an 11-10 win.
“They’re a talented team, always battling for a CAL title and in the playoffs, so I don’t ever take a team lightly,” she said. “I’m never comfortable until the clock hits zero and we have more goals than the other team.”
OCHS controlled possession and the pace of the game for two-thirds of the first half until MRHS finally broke through with a goal by Julianna Medina, who started a flurry of scoring that included five goals in the final 8 minutes of the first stanza.
Neither the senior from Northfield nor her teammates were satisfied with the way the game was going, so they stepped up and did something about it. Less than 5 minutes later senior Charlotte Walcoff fed Medina a pass for her second of the game, making it 6-2 at 4:38.
Junior Madison Wenner quickly got one back for the Raiders to stretch the lead back to five at 3:58, but Medina completed the first-half hat trick a little more than a half-minute later at 3:22.
Senior Racheli Levy-Smith, who led the Raiders with four goals and an assist, tallied one just before the half to make it 8-3 Ocean City.
Levy-Smith said the magic ingredient in the team’s winning potion is teamwork.
“Everyone working together and feeding each other and not being selfish. We share the ball and move the ball real quickly,” she said. “That makes a difference of a team with three studs and a team of 20 kids who know how to play lacrosse.”
After the break, Mustang sophomore Lani Ford cut the deficit to four with a goal at 22:27 of the second, but OCHS netted eight in a row to put MRHS away.
Medina got her fourth at 2:30 and Walcoff completed the Mustang scoring at 1:25.
For the Raiders, Wenner had three goals, Ryan Cooke, Gracie Pierce and Sutley each added a pair and Brynn Culmone, Kelsea Cooke and Grace McCafee netted one apiece. Olivia Vanesko had an assist.
Presley Green made 10 saves in net.
Graham said the Raiders have 20 players on their varsity roster and that depth helps the team prevent a letdown, since she has the ability to make frequent subs without losing skill.
“Even if they go on a run and put a few goals in, we don’t let it get to us. We keep our heads in the game, keep ourselves composed and we make sure that we are continuing to execute the game plan,” Graham said.
Medina led the Mustangs with four goals.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. They gave me all my passes so I could get the ball in the net,” Medina said.
Walcoff, who netted her 100th career goal earlier in the week off a pass from Eva Blanco, had a goal and three assists and Ford had a goal. Junior Jane Meade had an assist.
Kylie Kurtz had a rough day in net but frustrated a lot of Red Raiders by making 11 saves.
It was at least the sixth straight win for Ocean City over Mainland by a combined score of 93-38.
The Mustangs felt they played a better game this time despite a similar result.
“We’ve made so many improvements since the last time we played them — our attack, our defense and everybody just looked so much more like a team. The defense was definitely more confident and talked a lot more to each other. I know we are going to bounce back,” defender Lynn McLaughlin said.
Medina agreed.
“I’m really happy with how we played; we definitely played better than last time. I think we really made them work for their goals rather than them just running around us or scoring real easily,” Medina said. “I’m proud of our team for sticking in there and playing until the end.”
She said the team is young and has a promising future.
“We have a bunch of new players but they’re all stepping up and doing what they are supposed to do. We’re building, we’re going to get back there and we’re going to be able to compete and stick with Ocean City,” Medina said.
The Raiders are now 9-2 overall, 7-0 in the Cape-Atlantic League American Division. The Mustangs are 6-6 overall, 4-3 in the CAL American.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff