By Lesley Graham
It took senior captain Tara McNally less than five minutes to record her first goal for Ocean City field hockey on Wednesday afternoon. By the end of the first half, the Hofstra commit had five goals and assist with just 30 minutes of play.
The Ocean City High School Field Hockey team cruised to a 10-0 victory Wednesday afternoon overing visiting Lower Cape May. The win brings Ocean City to a perfect 4-0 on the season, while dropping Lower Cape May to 1-3.
Tara McNally led all scorers for the Red Raiders with five goals and one assist. Also scoring for Ocean City was Nya Gilchrist with two goals, one assist. Ella Brogan had two goals as well, with Sophia Tucker scoring one goal, one assist. Sophia Ruh and Alexis Smallwood each recorded an assist on the afternoon.
Ocean City was able to keep the Tigers from recording a shot on goal for the full 60 minutes, predominantly keeping the play in their offensive end.
Head Coach Kelsey Mitchell was pleased with how her team performed on the afternoon.
“The ball movement today was great. We have been talking about really connecting our layers in lines and the girls took that to heart and made it happen. I’m obviously pleased with the result but more importantly the output that went into it,” stated Mitchell postgame.
“Without a doubt Katie Bowman and Tara McNally played well today, but also the efforts of Nicole Carey and Cameryn Flynn off the bench today—poised and did their jobs,” emphasized Mitchell.
Senior Captain Katie Bowman said post game it was a great team win “We really worked as a team today—connecting from the defense to the middies through the offensive end,” said Bowman. Bowman, who has always been known for her ability to communicate according to Mitchell, utilized that skill on the field today. “Being able to talk out there on the field, letting my teammates know where I am and where they are, is so crucial to the success of the team and I’m just happy to be a part of it,” said Bowman.
For her part in the victory, McNally was thrilled to share in the win with her teammates. Scoring two of her goals on penalty shots, McNally credited her teammates with getting her there. “I was just aiming to put it in the cage and to just capitalize on the opportunity earned by the good plays from the whole team prior,” said McNally in a post game interview.
The Red Raiders are next preparing for a tough match up against non-conference opponent Haddonfield on Saturday morning. Last year, Ocean City narrowly defeated Haddonfield in overtime, so the Red Raiders will once again look to secure a victory against a tough opponent.
