OCEAN CITY — The Red Raider girls won their first-round matchup against Timber Creek 9-0 in the South Jersey Group III field hockey sectional Monday. The most impressive things about the performance revolved around the Timber Creek goalie.
Ly’airrah Sanders made 34 saves for the visitors at Carey Stadium. The Timber Creek goalie has surpassed 500 career saves.
That was impressive in two ways.
For one, the goalie’s performance. Sanders swatted and kicked away shot after shot even though the game was out of reach for her team by the end of the first half.
The second impressive factor was that the No. 3 seed Ocean City girls were so dominant against their No. 14 seed opponents, spending nearly the entire game in Timber Creek’s end of the field and mostly around the Timber Creek goal.
The Red Raiders mounted a blistering offensive attack and scored nine goals, including a hat trick by junior captain Casey Adamson.
Less than three minutes into the game, the Ocean City girls led 2-0 courtesy of a goal by Caroline Bickings and Lyla Clark a half-minute later. Adamson got her first goal at the 4:11 mark for a 3-0 first-period lead.
Sanders and the Timber Creek defense were able to keep the Red Raiders off the board for the first nine minutes of the second quarter, and then Adamson struck at the 5:54 mark, assisted by Clark on her second goal three minutes later, and then Marley Dwyer made it 7-0 just before the half.
Sanders again just about stood on her head for the third quarter, keeping that period and the first seven minute of the fourth quarter scoreless. Adamson broke through with 7:55 to go, Dwyer got her second goal of the game about a minute later and Lily Cozamanis made it 9-0 with just over five minutes to go. Clark was credited with assists on four of the goals.
“I think it gives our girls a lot of confidence with their shots. We had a lot of offense today,” Ocean City coach Carole Williams said. “I think it’ll help rolling into the next round.”
The Red Raiders (10-7-1) face No. 11 seed Cherry Hill West (10-8-1) at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Carey Stadium. CHW upset No. 5 seed Triton 6-0 in the opening round.
The winner of that quarterfinal will face the winner of No. 2 Hammonton (17-3) vs. No. 7 Moorestown (9-9-1) next Monday in the semifinals.
Ocean City lost two close games to Hammonton in the regular season, both by 2-1 scores.
“I think that would be a great matchup if we end up playing against Hammonton,” Williams said. If the girls beat CHW Wednesday, she said, “Then it’s going to be a good game.”
Williams was pleased with her Red Raiders in the 9-0 win over Timber Creek.
“I think it was a great team effort today. A lot of girls played very hard. We had some girls playing in some new spots and I think everybody did a really nice job,” Williams said.
Soccer sectionals:
O.C., Mainland
In other sectional matchups, the Ocean City boys soccer team was hosting Timber Creek and girls volleyball team was hosting Toms River South in the opening rounds of their South Jersey Group III sectionals Tuesday.
The Ocean City girls are at Toms River South at 2 p.m. today.
Mainland’s boys soccer team was hosting Deptford Township at 2 p.m. Tuesday and the Mainland girls soccer team is hosting Cherry Hill West at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The boys soccer second round is Friday; girls soccer playoffs continue Saturday.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
