OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City field hockey team shut out Lenape at Carey Stadium Oct. 11, with 5 goals from four different players, including a pair from Julia Neff, and then followed it up with wins over Lower Cape May Regional and Cherokee.
The girls have only lost two games so far this season, one to out-of-conference opponent West Essex and the other to Hammonton, which is just above the Red Raiders in the American Conference standings.
The Blue Devils’ win was a measure of revenge, beating Ocean City 1-0 after falling 2-1 to the Red Raiders earlier in the season.
Hammonton was 9-2-1 with a 7-1-1 record in the conference while Ocean City sported a 9-2-2 record, 7-1-1 in the conference.
Against Lenape, Brooke Hanley Andi Helphenstine and Ella Jefferson each had goal, with Hanley getting 2 assists amd one each for Tricia Nicoletti and Mia Pancoast.
The Red Raiders’ two ties are to non-conference opponent Rancocas Valley and to Egg Harbor Township, which sits just below Ocean City in the conference. The Red Raiders beat EHT 2-1 in their first matchup.
On Thursday, the Red Raiders beat the Caper Tigers 3-0 with 2 goals from Pancoast and 1 from Neff. Kate Cossaboon had an assist and Nicoletti had 2.
In Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Cherokee, Taylor Amstutz and Neff scored and goalie Taryn Doka made 9 saves.
Nicoletti, Neff, Jefferson and Hanley are the scoring and points leaders for the Red Raiders.
Nicoletti, a senior, had 14 goals and 5 assists through Oct. 15, giving her 33 points for the season. Neff had 14 goals and 3 assists for 31 points, and Jefferson, a sophomore, had 8 goals and 5 assists for 21 points. Hanley, a senior, had 5 goals and 5 assists for 15 points.
Pancoast, a junior, had 9 points coming from 4 goals and 1 assist. Helphenstine, a senior defender, had 7 points via 2 goals and 3 assists.
In South Jersey Group III, Ocean City is ranked fourth in Power Points with 242.5. Clearview (11-1) is at the top with 315, followed by Hammonton with 258.5 and Moorestown (11-4) with 247.
The other schools in the top 10 are Delsea, No. 5, 231 points; Lacey, No. 6, 227; Northern Burlington, seventh, 219.5; Shawnee, No. 8, 209.5; Allentown, No. 9, 200; and Toms River South, 189.5.
Ocean City had two more regular-season games to go, all against opponents from outside the Cape-Atlantic League, heading to Shore Oct. 18, then hosting Haddonfield at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, and Southern at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25.
The Red Raiders are scheduled to play Cedar Creek in the quarterfinals of the Cape-Atlantic League tournament.
Coach Kelsey Burke’s team will then head into the playoffs.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff