By LESLEY GRAHAM
The Ocean City High School field hockey team displayed its depth and dominance Monday afternoon, defeating visiting Bridgeton 12-0.
With the win, the Red Raiders improved to 4-2 on the season, while the Bridgeton Bulldogs fell to 0-4.
The Red Raiders scored early and often. Ten different Red Raiders tallied scores on the afternoon, with Tara McNally and Chloe Prettyman both registering two goals apiece.
The remaining 10 goals were scored by seniors Molly Reardon, Meredith Moon and Bridget O’Kane, juniors Nya Gilchrist and sophomores Racheli Levy-Smith, Madison Afanador, Carly Hanin and Camryn Flynn.
Although the Red Raiders were awarded two penalty corners early in the game, they were unable to find the back of the net.
That quickly changed, though, when junior captain Tara McNally converted on a penalty stroke for Ocean City, putting the Red Raiders up 1-0. The team never looked back as they dominated the rest of play.
Ocean City took an 8-0 lead into halftime.
The majority of the game was spent in the Ocean City offensive end, where the Red Raiders were able to draw a number of penalty corners as well as two penalty strokes in the first half. Both strokes resulted in goals – scored by captains Tara McNally and Meredith Moon.
Ocean City moved the ball well, despite playing on grass at the intermediate school, which has a different feel than the turf at the high school.
The Red Raiders’ overall aggressiveness and quick ball movement resulted in Bridgeton being unable to register a shot on goal. Bridgeton’s goalkeeper made a handful of quality saves throughout the game from the offensive firepower of the Red Raiders.
As the second half got underway, the Red Raiders looked to their bench to finish the game strong. Scoring in the second half were all underclassmen, a promising sign for the tradition and legacy that is Ocean City Red Raiders’ field hockey.
