OCEAN CITY – Tropical Storm Ophelia and the Blue Devils could not slow down the Ocean City Red Raiders as they dominated Hammonton 8-0 Friday, Sept. 22.
The win kept the Raiders’ undefeated start to the season alive as they moved to 6-0 on the year. They have an impressive 33-goal differential six games into the season with their closest game being a 3-1 win at Middle Township.
This game was also Lisa Cuneo’s 100th win as a head coach. She has won 53 games as the Raiders’ coach and previously won 47 games as coach of the Blue Devils, the team she beat to reach the century mark.
“It was ironically funny how the milestone comes against Hammonton where I started my coaching career,” Cuneo said after the mini celebration on the sideline.
Cuneo’s family went onto the field with big balloons that read 100 along with cupcakes for the team. The Raiders then handed Cuneo a handmade sign which read “100 Dubs Cuneo,” along with a cupcake to the face.
“This is awesome, I want the whole gang here on the sideline all the time. The girls that have come through this program, this is all because of them and I just put the pieces together,” Cuneo said.
The game took place a day before Tropical Storm Ophelia came into southern New Jersey and the wind gusts during the game were intense.
Ocean City started with the wind to their backs and senior McKenna Chisholm got to work early. Chisholm took the ball up the left, dodged a defender and sent a fast kick past the Blue Devil goalie to put the Raiders on the board.
That was the first of three goals for Chisholm on the day, which gave her two hat tricks on the year, her first being a week prior versus Deptford.
Senior Ashley Rhodes kept the Raiders rolling with another goal within the first 10 minutes thanks to a great pass from sophomore Jaida Dooley.
The Raiders had a pattern to score every five minutes and junior Shaela Gannon delivered with the best-looking shot of the day in the 15th minute. Gannon received the ball past midfield and sent a strike past all the defenders into the corner of the goal.
Ocean City’s leading goal scorer this season is junior Naomi Nnewihe, with a staggering 11 goals through her first five games. Nnewihe added onto her total by dribbling the ball 30 yards down the field and sending the ball into the net for a 4-0 Raider lead only 24 minutes into the game.
Due to the constant pressure from the Raider offense, the Blue Devils rarely had the ball and crossed midfield only twice in the first half. The defense also held Hammonton to zero shots on goal for the whole game.
Rhodes capped off the first half with her second goal of the game by running past two defenders and fired an accurate shot to put the Raiders up 5-0 at halftime.
The teams switched sides at halftime which meant the Raiders had to kick against Ophelia’s wind for the rest of the game. The wind benefitted the Blue Devil goalie and defenders in clearing the ball away from the offense.
“We just had to figure out how to adjus. I felt we played good while dealing with the wind issue,” Cuneo said.
After a couple blocked shots in the first half, Chisholm found the back of the net again with a deep shot on the right side of the goal for a score. With a couple minutes remaining in the game, she found the net again. She was a constant presence with her three goals and played great defense at midfield where she helped stop Blue Devil drives.
Between the final two goals by Chisholm, sophomore Lindsay Seeberger scored her first goal of the season and gave the Raiders five different scorers in the game. Everyone on the team got involved offensively.
Asked after the game about her team’s performance, Cuneo said, “I’m never satisfied. The scoreboard is one thing, but I don’t mind nitpicking these guys and they know it. That’s what lets us meet and exceed our goals for the season. We did a lot of good things, and it was a great team win.”
The Raiders were looking to continue their hot start Tuesday at home versus Millville. After that game the Raiders will play heated rival Mainland on the road for the second time this season. The Mainland game will be Sept. 28. Game time is 4 p.m.
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
