Red Raiders first Cape-Atlantic League team to take prestigious soccer tournament
CHERRY HILL – When Bishop Eustace tied the championship game in the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association tournament Saturday night with little more than five minutes to go, the Ocean City girls decided that would not stand.
Attacker Summer Reimet said after leading Bishop Eustace twice in the contest, only to watch the Crusaders come back and then tie it again on a direct kick at the 5:28 mark in the second half, the entire team knew it was time to put the game away.
Standing at midfield before the ensuing kickoff with fellow senior Hope Slimmer, Reimet said the duo had a short and sweet conversation: “Let’s get the ball in the back of the net right now.”
That is just what they did.
Slimmer fed Reimet, who eluded two defenders tightly marking her and slammed home the winning goal with 4:39 left on the clock.
“I’m so happy we could get it together and get the third goal,” said Reimet, who is Ocean City girls soccer’s all-time leading scorer.
Reimet said the Red Raiders came into the final of the Coaches Association Tournament expecting a battle from Bishop Eustace, despite that team being seeded 13th in the tournament. The Red Raiders (19-1) were seeded second.
“We came into this knowing they came into the championship just like we did,” Reimet said. “They earned it as well. … We knew they were going to be a tough team. We just needed to execute what we know.”
Eustace (13-4-2 overall, 10-0 Olympic Conference) pulled upset after upset in the tournament, taking out No. 4 Cherokee in the opening round, No. 5 Shawnee in the second round and then shut out No. 1 Eastern 3-0 in the semifinals. Ocean City shut out No. 15 Delsea in the first round and then No. 10 Clearview in the second round before beating No. 3 Rancocas Valley 2-1 in the semifinals.
“This is great. It’s amazing,” Slimmer said. “I’m so excited and proud of everyone. We never made it to a coach’s cup before so it’s crazy. We just came out and got ready to play.”
After Reimet scored the first goal with 13:38 left in the first half on an assist from McKenna Chisholm, Crusader Mia Abbey tied the game on a kick seven and a half minutes into the second half.
Nine minutes later, it was Slimmer’s turn. Taking a feed from her sister, Joy, Hope Slimmer put the team up 2-1 on a straight shot from beyond the box.
“We work well together,” Hope said. “Now that she plays in the center with me, we connect well. There was a defender running on her, she slipped the ball across (to me). I took a touch and shot it. It was really special. Super special,” she said of her sister providing the assist.
Reimet said getting the first goal “set the pace for the entire game. We were confident that we could get a goal in on them. I remember earlier in the game I missed a breakaway opportunity and that was similar. I was glad I finished that one. I learned from my mistakes on my first one and made the second one.”
Reimet’s goal-scoring ability isn’t lost on opponents. She is always marked closely and in Saturday night’s game at DeCou Field in Cherry Hill, a Crusader defender was tasked to harass her and disrupt her at every turn. Obviously, that didn’t work.
“I didn’t let that girl get on my nerves,” Reimet said. “You have to remember to just play your game. I’m sure there were other situations going on on the field as well. They’re an aggressive team. We’re an aggressive team. We just battled it out.”
Senior goalie Tori Vliet made 10 saves, including down to the wire, to keep Bishop Eustace from tying the game a third time. Crusader goalie Ava Racobaldo had 7 saves.
The second Bishop Eustace goal, from Crusader Abby Dlug, came on a direct kick from far out. The first, by Abbey, came with a crowd of attackers and defenders in front of the goal.
“You have to work on controlling your team so they’re in the right spots so if the ball doesn’t come all the way to me they can get it out,” Vliet said. “It’s a big communication thing for those kicks. It’s also a confidence thing for me, being able to come out and win those balls, to sacrifice myself for the ball.”
She was excited for the way her team played. “It’s amazing. It’s awesome,” Vliet said. “I’m so proud of my team for bringing it out in the end. I’m so happy for our team.”
Head coach Lisa Cuneo still had critiques of her team’s play in the game, but was clearly impressed with the victory.
“Summer is a beast. There’s no doubt about it,” Cuneo said. “Hope and Joy in the midfield, their engines just don’t stop. I can’t sprint halfway across the field, but they can go for 80 minutes. They’re just little balls of energy back there.”
“Our backs got the job done. They did their assignments and followed through. I can’t be more proud of them,” she said.
“This is the first CAL team to win the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association tournament. I didn’t want to mention that too much,” she said when speaking to the players. “They’re high school girls. They get nervous. I get nervous. It’s a big deal. It’s nice to represent the CAL like that.
“Ever since I started coaching – I started in Hammonton – and my journey was to get the name out there, get the CAL name out there, get it a little bit more respected. And these girls are doing it. It’s awesome,” Cuneo said.
Still, she noted, her team “can’t give up soft goals. We did our job marking their top players. We just have to focus on the little things moving forward. This is why I keep preaching to them why this is so important. Every single restart, every single little moment like that is a learning moment for us moving forward. If we ever see a big restart, we have to be ready and in position.”
She wants her players learning from this game because they are far from done. Since before the start of the season, the goal has been singular – win a state championship just as the 2019 team did.
The girls are the No. 1 seed in the South Jersey Group III sectional tournament. Clearview, on the other side of the bracket, is the No. 2 seed.
Ocean City opened play at home Tuesday against No. 16 Cumberland. The higher seeds have home field advantage.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
