By LESLEY GRAHAM
The Ocean City field hockey team finished out its regular season with a thrilling overtime victory Monday against visiting Bishop Eustace High School.
Honoring the senior class before the game got underway, the Red Raiders looked to end their regular season on a high note.
The Red Raiders scored in the opening minute of the game, taking an early 1-0 lead.
They would then wait until the clock was ticking down in the final seconds of overtime to score again, leaving fans on the edge of their seats until the last possible second.
Scoring on the afternoon was the duo of Chloe Prettyman and Tara McNally, both who had one goal and one assist.
McNally would score the game winner in overtime.
Ocean City was on the attack early in the game, coming hot out of the gate into the offensive end.
McNally assisted on a Prettyman chip in to give the Red Raiders the lead with less than a minute off the clock.
Bishop Eustace wasn’t going to let Ocean City get on a roll with momentum on their side. They found the back of the net themselves with 24:15 remaining in the half.
The rest of the first half and all of the second would remain scoreless between the two schools but not without some controversy.
Ocean City had two goals in the first half and one goal in the second half that were all called back as non-goals after further review by the referees.
Despite the frustration, the Red Raiders kept themselves level-headed and moved into overtime with fierce will and determination.
Playing overtime with seven versus seven as opposed to the regulation 11 versus 11, it was critical for Ocean City to work the ball, be smart and aggressive and take advantage of its opportunities.
McNally would score off a Prettyman assist with the clock striking zero.
Ocean City Head Coach Kelsey Mitchell was proud of her team’s efforts on the field.
“I thought we played a really strong first half and controlled the pace of play,” said Mitchell. “I was proud of the way we were attacking, and I felt like our backs stepped up when they needed to.”
As the Red Raiders prepare for the Group III state playoffs, Mitchell said the overtime win was a great boost to have right before the playoffs.
