By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City High School field hockey team won the sectional championship last season, but lost a big class to graduation. Although there are a good number of seniors on this fall’s squad, coach Kelsey Burke is working with fewer players with varsity experience.
However, that doesn’t change what the coach expects from her players.
“Our expectations are the same every year,” she said. “We set our goals very high because we know we’re capable of it.”
“The senior group is a bit quieter than last year so they are the lead-by-example type,” Burke said. “Just knowing that and owning it, we need some of them to step up and take initiative and be a little more vocal. That’s something that we’re working on and I’m sure that we will get there.”
The coach said she has a strong junior class and have had some sophomores contributing in the scrimmages and she is excited about that.
“We’ve had four scrimmages and learned a lot about ourselves throughout and made improvements each and every one. That’s the plan for the rest of the season, to continue improving every day and focusing on … what we need to work on and going from there,” she said.
Key attackers this season will be Racheli Levy-Smith, Carly Hanin and Tricia Nicoletti. “They have great speed and are hungry in the circle,” the coach said. (Hanin scored the game-winning goal in the sectional championship game against Egg Harbor Township High School that went into overtime.”
Burke is looking for Andi Helphenstine and Nicole Carey to control the midfield
Camryn Flynn and Nora Bridgeford wlll anchor the defense, she added.
Levy-Smith, Hanin, Carey, Flynn and Bridgeford are seniors. They are joined by fellow seniors Olivia Vanesko, Ally Leeds, Sophia Tucker, Brooke Stell and Abby Laursen.
The coach’s captains for this year are Vanesko, Carey and Helphenstine.
Burke said the team always expects challenges from all of its opponents.
“We don’t like to overlook anyone in the Cape-Atlantic League. We just have to make sure we show up and we play well,” she said. “We really focus on ourselves more so than on anyone else.”“We don’t have as much varsity experience as we’ve had prior years so we really need our leaders to step up, even if they’re not in the captain position,” Vanesko said. “Anyone can be a leader so we’re looking for literally anyone to be vocal and communicate, to get us all on the same level and make sure we’re on the same page during the games and even off the field.”
“Since we lost so much in our graduating class last year we are looking to rebuild,” Vanesko added. “We have a lot of players who haven’t played much varsity last year so we really are excited to see what they can do and contribute this season.”
“The seniors this year have a pretty tight bond and we’re looking to see how that can transfer onto the field, how we can play with each other and see how far we can get,” she added.
She said the team wants to “shut out the CAL. We don’t even want to let a goal in in any CAL game. That’s our goal this year.”
“We’re going to hope to be CAL champs this year and see how far we can get in the state playoffs,” said fellow captain Carey. “We have positive attitudes and we want to see what we can accomplish.”
Carey said the team needs to keep the bond between players strong and for the Red Raiders to keep their energy high throughout the season.
“I’m hoping as a team leader that we can really come together this year,” Helphenstine said. “Last year we were a close group and I’m hoping we can recreate that kind of environment again. I think we’re coming together nicely. It was weird in the beginning because we were trying to figure out where people fall so you’re always playing with different people, but you get to know everyone.”
The girls open their season on the road at Vineland today and host Absegami at 4 p.m. Thursday on the turf at Carey Stadium, Sixth Street and Atlantic Avenue. The girls will be playing at both Carey Stadium and at the Ocean City Intermediate School field at 20th Street and Bay Avenue.
