Ocean City Hockey Team Blanks Mainland

By LESLEY GRAHAM The Ocean City High School field hockey team had an offensive explosion Friday afternoon to defeat the visiting Mustangs of Mainland 8-0. Seven different Red Raiders contributed points, making it a total team effort in the shutout. The Red Raiders improved to 13-5 on the season, while Mainland dropped to 8-9. Junior Nya Gilchrist had three goals and one assist on the afternoon, while teammate Molly Reardon had one goal and three assists. Rounding out the scoring was Chloe Prettyman with two goals and Olivia Vanesko and Bridget O’Kane each with one. Sophia Ruh and Morgan DeCosta each chipped in an assist. Morgan DeCosta (7) and Andi Helphenstine (20) use a double team to get the ball back. It didn’t take the Red Raiders long to find the back of the goal, with Nya Gilchrist getting the tip in on a pass from Molly Reardon with just under 17 minutes remaining in the first half. It quickly became the Ocean City show as the Red Raiders rattled off three more goals before the half ended. They grabbed a four-goal lead and all the momentum going into half time. As the second half got underway, it was more of the offensive show Ocean City displayed in the first half. Olivia Vanesko powered one past the goal off the back post to extend Ocean City’s lead to 5-0, quickly followed by the sixth goal from Chloe Prettyman. Molly Reardon used evasive stick work to move the ball into the offensive circle when she powered a shot in on goal to teammate Nya Gilchrist, who finished up with the score. Mainland had an opportunity to end the shutout and score as the minutes were waning in the second half, but a great heads-up defensive play by Morgan DeCosta kept the Mustangs off the scoreboard. Senior Ava Mumman battles a Mainland Mustang for possession. Ocean City Head Coach Kelsey Mitchell was excited to see her team get back out on the field after an extended break from games. “We hadn’t played since last Friday. They were excited to play an opponent other than themselves,” Mitchell said. The Red Raiders will conclude their regular season Monday with a home game against Bishop Eustace. They will then look ahead to the South Jersey Group III Tournament, where they are the No. 2 seed and will await the winner of the Absegami-Winslow game. When asked about post-season predictions, Mitchell said, “It’s a brand new season. What happens in the regular season doesn’t work for us or against us. It’s time to set new goals and hold ourselves accountable to work hard every day.” Molly Reardon evades the Mustang defenders.