Ocean City High School’s girls lacrosse team closed out its regular season with a thrilling 11-10 victory over the visiting Mainland Mustangs on Senior Day.
The win upped the Red Raiders record to 10-3 (9-0 conference), while Mainland dropped to 10-4 (10-2 conference).
Ocean City honored its six seniors pre-game for their dedication to the program the past four years.
“Alexis Smallwood, Tara McNally, Katie Bowman, Chelsea Stack, Morgan Decosta and Tess Grimley have all been instrumental in making this year a successful one so far,” second year head coach Lesley Graham said.
“Without the opportunity to play last year and a limited number of varsity returners, this senior class has really stepped up and showcased their leadership, heart and teamwork to the underclassmen,” Graham continued. “We know they are all going to go on and do big things at the next level.”
Leading the scorers for the Raiders was Grace McAfee with four goals. Smallwood added three, Racheli Levy-Smith chipped in two and both Stack and Summer Reimet scored a goal each. Casey Murray of Mainland led all scorers with six goals.
Ocean City's Alexis Smallwood scores one of her three goals.
In what was a heated back and forth battle, Mainland scored first to grab an early lead. Ocean City would answer back with a number of looks on cage, but Mainland freshman goalie, Kylie Kurtz, made ten first-half saves to keep her team in the thick of it.
Never more than a two-goal differential, Ocean City held a 6-5 lead going into halftime.
The second half was much of the same with both teams utilizing their opportunities to keep the game within one goal. As the half was winding down, Reimet found the back of the net on a free position goal, giving the Raiders a one goal lead.
After the ensuing draw control with possession gained by Ocean City, Graham called a timeout to discuss the game plan.
“There were under three minutes to play, so we just emphasized the importance of possession and taking care of the ball. Winning by one is still a win,” Graham said.
The Red Raiders were able to withstand high pressure from the defense of Mainland and keep the ball in their offensive third. With less than 20 seconds to play, a change of possession call gave Mainland the opportunity for a last-ditch shot, but time ran out before there could be a shot on goal.
“These are the types of games that you love to watch and coach,” Graham said. “The team responded with energy and fight, knowing that the win was within reach the whole game. What better way to honor our seniors than with a win over our rivals?”
Racheli Levy-Smith takes the draw for Ocean City against Mainland’s Casey Murray.
The win gave Ocean City’s senior class the ability to stay perfect in CAL play over their three seasons, going 30-0.
“It was a good team win and a nice way to end the regular season with a win over our rival,” said Smallwood, who will be taking her talents to West Chester University next year. “It was the type of momentum boost we needed to head into playoff season next week.”
Ocean City looks ahead to the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs, where the Red Raiders take on Jackson Memorial at home on Tuesday, June 1.
