Mixed with returning experience, Raiders aim to defend their CAL crown
OCEAN CITY — “Youthful energy and returning experience” is the mix for the Ocean City High School girls lacrosse team this season.
The defending Cape-Atlantic League champion is at 5-2 midway through April, its only losses to out-of-conference Southern (9-8) and Haddonfield (14-9), with three other non-conference wins over Cherry Hill West (8-7), Clearview (15-6) and, most recently, Kingsway (19-5) on April 15.
In the CAL, the Red Raiders topped Cedar Creek 16-8 and a strong Mainland team 15-9 before facing Kingsway.
“It has been really exciting to watch that growth,” head coach Lesley Graham said.
The team is very young on defense, having lost its most experienced defender, junior Faelyn Clark, to a season-ending injury in the first game, and had another starter, Sophia Wright, out for a spell with an injury.
“It’s been that sort of next-player-up mentality,” Graham said, crediting sophomore Carissa Kelly for stepping into that void. “She’s come so far to be able to compete at the varsity level,” she noted about Kelly, who suffered a bad head injury in an accident before her freshman season. “That’s a heartwarming moment not only from a coaching standpoint, but as a mom, knowing how far she’s come.”
Graham does have experience returning on the other end of the field, on attack, because the team was fortunate to get some quality playing time last season for then-freshmen Marley Dwyer and Lyla Clark (11 and 15 goals, respectively). They are on the hunt with freshman Peyton Slattery and junior Laurel Munning, a junior whom Graham said is the quarterback on attack. Munning is committed to play lacrosse at St. Joseph University. She has 16 goals and 13 assists so far this season.
“What is nice about our attack is that we have depth, which is such a benefit when you get into tougher games,” the coach said. “It’s easier to key in on one or two players, but whatever mix of seven kids is out there, there are seven threats. We have a mix of drivers and dodgers and feeders and finishers, so all of those multi layers make our offense more dynamic.”
The midfield has the most experience with senior Katie Pierce, who will be headed to Eastern Caroline University to play lacrosse with her older sister, and Marley Ostrander, a junior committed to the University of Denver. Ostrander is the team leader in goals with 25.
Graham pointed to the maturity behind their play and that of Munning. She aded Pierce is one of those “do-it-all, gritty athletes that can play for 48 minutes at a high rate of speed. She gets it done in ways that aren’t flashy and doesn’t necessarily put points on the board, but is critical to the success of our team.”
Graham has moved senior attacker Allie Hudson back on defense, knowing her leadership there was important for an athlete who also plays basketball. She is back with Wright, sophomore Caroline Bickings and freshmen Rose Marczyk and Nelly Schwegman.
Senior Aliza Otton is in goal, backed up by sophomores Jillian Szeker and Ellie Southard.
Graham said Otton and Szeker have complementary styles, push each other in practice, hold each other accountable and “just have a camaraderie. It can be lonely in what we call ‘goalie world’ if you don’t have support.”
The Red Raiders will again be aiming to win the CAL title and to push as deep into the sectional playoffs as possible.
“Our goal is to get to the same place as the previous year and then do a little bit better,” Graham said, noting the stiff competition in South Jersey Group III. Last year the Ocean City girls lost to eventual South Jersey champ Moorestown in the semifinals.
“Once again, Group III is just stacked with talent. Is it annoying? Sure, but it makes us better and it pushes us every day knowing that the ultimate goal is to try to play for a state championship. In order to get that opportunity, we have to go through the Shawnees and the Moorestowns and the Cherry Hill Wests,” Graham said. “Every chance we can get to play high competition, we’re going to do that.”
There’s a broader goal as well.
“I feel very fortunate to be the coach of these very talented young women who are dedicated to their sport. They’re also great humans. They put the team first, they work hard, they’re willing to sacrifice self for the good of the team,” Graham said. “No matter if it’s a game that we’ve lost, or that we win, as long as we’re doing it together and we’re learning from it, that’s the most important piece for us.”
Against Kingsway, the multiple scoring threats showed. Marley Dwyer had four goals and the team got three apiece from Slattery, Clark, Ostrander and Manning, two more from Pierce and one from Marczyk.
The Red Raiders are at home at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, hosting Lower Cape May Regional’s Caper Tigers.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
