OCEAN CITY – The Red Raider girls soccer team cruised to a 3-0 win over visiting Vineland Tuesday, Oct. 11, and followed it with another 3-0 victory over Washington Township in the first round of the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association Tournament.
On Monday, the girls were knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinal round in 4-3 shootout with Shawnee, but because the game and overtime were scoreless, it was recorded as a tie.
Against the visiting Fighting Clan at the Tennessee Avenue field, the Raiders controlled possession from the opening kick, playing with visible confidence once they put the first goal in.
The Raiders did well driving wide early on, but their centering passes were just off.
“It was just something we had to clean up,” Naomi Nnewihe said. “We have to get used to playing with each other … but we fixed it and we got our goals. We got what we needed to get.”
Ocean City had a series of chances with everything but the finish.
“It can mess with you,” Nnewihe said. “It’s frustrating, but we know what we can do. We just have to be patient and take our time. Eventually it will come.”
The Raiders finally broke through in the 13th minute when a corner kick leaked through the box and Ashley Rhodes finished the bouncing ball.
“We just were staying positive,” Nnewihe said, “because we were doing everything but finishing. Just keep doing it, and eventually one will go in. We did, and Ash had a great goal.”
The Raiders were able to exhale and play even better from there.
“It changes the whole game,” Nnewihe said. “We start connecting more passes and just playing better, more as a team.”
“Obviously the difference between 0-0 and being one up is a big deal,” head coach Lisa Cuneo. said. “That’s the idea – keep driving, keep pressuring until that first goal comes. Sometimes it takes a little longer than we want, but in the end we get it and we move on.”
McKenna Chisholm nearly doubled the lead shortly after but rang one off the post.
Nnewihe briefly had to leave the game, but returned without issue.
“I just got hit in the head with the ball and it hit my glasses into my eyes,” Nnewihe said. “I felt the shock for a moment but it wore off, so I went back in.”
This was lucky for the Raiders as she made the play that created the second Raider goal late in the first half, jumping a clear attempt.
“I dropped back because I knew she was going to kick it long,” Nnewihe said. “I trapped then I just dribbled forward, then she had to commit to either me or Gabby (Cupit). When she committed I passed it to Gabby and she just slid it home.”
Ocean City led 2-0 at the half, but it felt like it should’ve been more.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Cuneo said, “but it’s something to focus on in practice. We’re going to work on that more because now it’s go time, it’s crunch time. We’re going to make sure our finishing is better in practice, then hopefully that reflects in the game. The build-up looks good, so we just have to make sure we execute in finishing the ball.”
“There are moments we go back and reflect on and ask, ‘Was this a good decision?’ or ‘Was it too unselfish?’” Cuneo said. “‘Was it too selfish?’ ‘Did a touch let them down?’ I think we are also figuring out now where our goals are going to come from. If you look at our stat sheet, it’s everywhere. It can come from anywhere and we appreciate that team dynamic.”
In the 53rd minute, Nnewihe finished one herself off an excellent give-and go with Emily Benson to put the Raiders comfortably ahead.
“She’s still raw, she’s only a sophomore,” Cuneo said of Nnewihe. “She plays a lot of soccer and her speed is there. We’re going to work on little things like getting more technical with the ball, obviously finishing. But she’s the threat, she’s our go-to target for sure. There’s no hiding that. Everyone knows her name and what she brings to the team. But for us she just brings an elevated level of speed to our game. Everyone just follows suit. By her senior year, every single one is going to be in the back of the net.”
After beating Vineland 7-0 the first time around the Raiders had to battle for this win.
“Hats off to Vineland, they played us tough,” Cuneo said. “We do the right things, we just have to find ways to break through. It comes from Naomi just being confident and working through it, or Zoey (Lappin) being a little aggressive. We have bodies, it just takes that one little moment and that changes the dynamic of the game. It changes how we play.”
On Friday, Ocean City beat Washington Township 3-0 to improve. Nnewihe, Lappin and Rhodes each had a goal and Chisholm, Benson and Nnewihe had the assists. Tori Vliet made 11 saves to preserve the shutout.
“We have to know on our end that everyone is going to give us their very best,” Cuneo said. “Just to score on us is going to be a big deal for some teams. That’s good, but we have to take that and rise to the occasion as well.”
Out of tournament
On Monday, the Red Raiders, ranked No. 6 in the Coaches Tournament, played No. 3 Shawnee to a scoreless tie through double overtime, sending the teams into a penalty kick shootout to determine who would move on in the tournament. Vliet made 12 saves in the game and Shawnee goalie Mackenzie Borbi turned away 8 shots by the Red Raiders.
In the shootout, Shawnee made 4 penalty shots to Ocean City’s 3.
The Red Raiders are now 10-0-2 with only one goal scored against them.
The Raiders will travel to Mainland Friday for a 4 p.m. rematch with the Mustangs, who battled Ocean City to a scoreless tie.
“Just keep trying, keep working hard and just don’t stop,” Nnewihe said. “Never be satisfied.”
By KYLE McCRANE/Sentinel Sports