The #18th New Jersey State ranked Ocean City High School Red Raider lacrosse team continued their march into the playoffs with a victory over Mainland. This win avenged their 1 goal loss to the Mustangs in 2018, and continued their dominance, winning 4 of the last 5 games over their rival in Linwood. The team is now 9-1 to start the 2019 season.
The Raiders jumped out early, Billy Kroeger scoring following the faceoff 10 seconds into the game. Goals from senior Anthony Inserra, sophomore Jake Schneider and junior Noam Levy-Smith finished a shutout 4-0 first half. The tight Raiders defense was led by senior Kyle Saul, with big plays by junior Ted Grimley and sophomore Jake Inserra to hold the Mustangs scoreless.
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The second half was a wild one. It began with an early goal by senior Marty Cattie, then Mainland scored 3:45 into third to make it 5-1, but Schneider tied it up 10 seconds later, and Mainland answered at 7:42, for a 6-2 lead by Ocean City. The Raiders then exploded, with goals by senior Trent Laveson assisted by Inserra, then Inserra scoring once again at the buzzer to end the third, 8-2 to start the 4th quarter.
Laveson opened the scoring in the 4th, 9-2. Levy-Smith scored again, 10-2, then senior Christian Kuhn chipped in and the rout was on, 11-2. The Mainland defense did not have an answer for the crisp passing by the Raiders, with most goals on the day assisted to an open scorer.
Goalie Charlie Dahl put on a show in the 4th, with 5 saves but Mainland got 4 late goals due to penalties against the Raiders to gain back a little respect for an 11-6 final tally. The game was not as close as the final numbers indicate.
The Raiders continue with a home game Thursday afternoon at 2:30 at Carey Stadium against Delaware powerhouse Cape Henlopen.
