OCEAN CITY – For the third straight season, the Ocean City Red Raiders are Cape-Atlantic League tournament champions in girls lacrosse.
Senior Delainey Sutley scored seven goals for the Raiders as they beat Holy Spirit 12-9 in the final May 16.
Ocean City started off slowly and fell into a 3-1 deficit after the first quarter. Sutley and the Raiders quickly got back on track and went on a 7-1 scoring run.
“We’ve been in situations before where we have been down and the girls have just chipped away and scored one goal at a time,” Ocean City head coach Lesley Graham said. “I really think they buy into that mentality that we have the skills and athleticism to dig ourselves out. They kept their composure today and I could not be prouder.”
The Raiders have had a few comeback victories this season, most recently against Holy Spirit a week prior to the championship.
When the two teams last saw each other, Holy Spirit jumped out to a five-goal lead over Ocean City. The Raiders did not flinch and scored 10 unanswered goals to complete the comeback.
In their CAL final, both teams gave it everything they had.
Sutley won the opening draw for the Raiders and scored in under a minute. The Raiders never got back into rhythm on offense in the quarter as Holy Spirit controlled possession of the ball and scored three goals in a two-and-a-half-minute span.
Ocean City needed a spark after the momentum shifted to Holy Spirit.
Sutley delivered.
The senior won the opening draw of the second quarter and sprinted down the field. She scored off a free shot immediately and put the Raiders within one goal.
The Raiders kept their foot on the gas as Brynn Culmone tied the game at 3-3 30 seconds later.
Holy Spirit star player Hannah Watson stopped the bleeding momentarily and scored her second goal of the game to retake the lead.
The Ocean City defense put pressure on Holy Spirit and forced a turnover which eventually led to Sutley’s third goal of the game.
After an impressive save by goalie Presley Green, the Raiders regained possession of the ball with only 20 seconds left in the first half. Sutley delivered her fourth goal and gave the Raiders a 5-4 lead heading into the break.
She scored first again in the third quarter and accounted for five of the next six goals in the game.
“I felt like I needed to pick the momentum and energy up after our start,” Sutley said. “I got the momentum to pick my team back up and it carried into the second half.”
Sutley leads Ocean City this season with more than 60 goals scored and recently became the third player in team history to eclipse 200 career goals.
Coach Graham described Sutley as a “generational” player.
“She really is a special player,” Graham said. “She is a consistent presence on the draw circle and she makes great plays defensively. One of the best things about Delainey is that she makes the people around her better. She is just a generational player and I will miss her next year.”
Ocean City’s offense kept scoring in bursts as freshman Marley Ostrander extended the Raider lead. Ryan Cooke scored another one immediately after and that 3-1 first quarter deficit evolved into an 8-4 lead.
With Holy Spirit on its back foot Watson and Brielle Soltys stopped the Raiders’ scoring run with back-to-back scores.
Two more Ocean City goals by Kelsea Cooke and Sutley reinforced the Raider lead before Watson beat the buzzer with a last-second Holy Spirit goal.
Watson ended the game with five goals and willed her team on multiple occasions to cut into the Raiders’ lead. Kelsea Cooke and Sutley scored again to start the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 12-7 and put the game out of reach.
With the regular season behind them the Raiders will enter the South Jersey Group III playoffs with a record of 15-5. The group is considered one of the toughest collection of teams in the state with multiple powerhouse schools. In addition to Ocean City the group features 14-2 Moorestown, the No. 2 seed, and defending South Jersey Group III champion Shawnee, the No. 2 seed. Ocean City is the No. 4 seed and will host No. 13 Toms River South on Saturday.
“We call this our second season,” Graham said. “It was nice to cap off the regular season with the CAL championship but now our focus has shifted to the playoffs. We make ourselves a hard schedule to prepare for group play knowing just how difficult it is.
“One of the great things I have loved about this season has been that on any given day any team can win. If we bring our best, we can win and that is the goal and mentality that we have going into this whole season.”
If Ocean City beats Toms River South, the Raiders would face the winner of No. 5 Clearview vs. No. 12 Lacey Township. If they make it to the semifinals, the Raiders could face Moorestown.
Mainland Regional High School is the No. 6 seed and hosts No. 11 Jackson Memorial Saturday.
– STORY and PHOTOS by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
