By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
HAMMONTON — If you were looking for drama in the 2024 Cape-Atlantic League field hockey championship tournament, there wasn’t a whole lot to be had.
Top-seeded Hammonton, which won the title last year and was favored to repeat this season, doubled up No. 5 St. Joseph Academy, 6-3, in the semifinals, then took down second-seeded Ocean City, 3-1, in Tuesday afternoon’s championship game under bright skies and temperatures more suited for August preseason scrimmages.
Ocean City (9-7-1, 5-2-1 Cape-Atlantic American) hung tough, and had a chance to tie the game midway through the third quarter, but Hammonton goalie Kelley Crescenzo made a diving save on a penalty stroke by Stevie Wright. That preserved the Blue Devils’ 2-1 lead, and Ocean City never really threatened again.
“Around sixth period today I started to feel sick and I realized it was because of the game. But we played solid,” said a relieved Kristen Silvesti, Hammonton’s head coach, after the win. “Kelley, our goalie, had a phenomenal game. If that stroke goes in I think it changes the momentum of the game completely. She, hands down, saved the game for us.”
“I think that helped that we scored first. When we score first we get a lot of momentum going, and after Kelley saved that shot, that really solidified it for us. That was super big and Kelley was amazing today,” added Hammonton’s Emma Longo. “We knew we were No. 1 for a reason and we knew we could live up to that.”
Crescenzo said her big moment didn’t come down to a guess as to which way to dive, but rather just reacting to the ball. As soon as Wright shot it, Crescenzo dove fully extended to her right and knocked the ball wide of the cage.
“Being a goalie in general, and especially in situations like that, is definitely a lot of pressure. Especially with a score like that in a high intensity game. The most important thing for myself was trying to block that all out and recognize that you have to throw everything you have at that ball,” she explained. “Sometimes you can tell where a player is going (with the shot) but the higher level of field hockey you play at, the better they are at concealing what they are trying to do. I just stare at the ball and go from there. The second the ball is in the air, I react, and everything I have goes for it. It felt good to make that save, for sure.”
Hammonton (14-1-1, 7-0-1 CAL American) tacked on a goal by Gab Childs on a wicked shot off a corner pass from Longo, taking a 3-1 lead with a little more than three minutes left. From there, it was simply a matter of running out the clock before the Devils could celebrate once again. Cape-Atlantic League field hockey — long dominated by Ocean City — now belongs to Hammonton, a team that has gone 17-0-1 in league play the last two seasons. The only team fortunate enough to tie the Blue Devils was rival St. Joe earlier this month when the Wildcats battled to a 2-2 stalemate.
“(Ocean City) is always solid competition. They have been since I was in high school, and even before. Because that history is there it’s always an intense game, even though these girls don’t really know about it. But they’ve heard about it through the grapevine from all of us who have played previously,” Silvesti said. “It’s been us (and Ocean City) playing in this game the last three years and I’m not shocked that it’s played out that way because they are a solid program. And Taryn (Dolka), their goalie, is phenomenal. You can’t walk away from an Ocean City vs. Hammonton game and not talk about the number of shots she sees and the number of shots she saves. She’s unbelievable.”
Dolka finished with 25 saves, but Hammonton was able to slip a few shots past her and the Ocean City defense. Gabriella Teti notched the game’s first goal, early in the first quarter, when she tapped in a rebound off a shot from Longo to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead. Ocean City knotted the score just before halftime, as Marley Dwyer scored off an assist from Casey Adamson on the third untimed corner to finish off the first half.
Hammonton took the lead for good with 6:55 left in the third quarter when Teti scored her second goal of the game. The win was the fourth straight for the Blue Devils, who had their nine-game winning streak to start the season snapped in a 4-2 setback against Schalick in late September — their only loss of the season.
“This is awesome and it’s great to be a part of this (two-year run). I remember my freshman year we kind of struggled and we didn’t beat Ocean City once, but the last two years we’ve gone undefeated against them,” Longo said. “I see the growth in this program and it’s great to be a part of it. I think a lot of us are just really invested in this program and a lot of us have grown up together. We have a strong bond and that’s what motivates us, wanting to play for each other.”
“It’s just team chemistry,” Crescenzo added. “We have all the skill to take us big places this year, it’s just a matter of getting everybody to connect with each other, both on the field and off the field. We’ve been doing a lot of that recently and I think that led us to success today.”
A big key to Hammonton’s success this season has been the play of Crescenzo, who has 59 saves and eight shutouts. Only Schalick and St. Joseph Academy have managed to score more than two goals against the Blue Devils.
“It’s been awesome watching her develop. We’ve been so lucky as a program to have had someone who is a varsity level goalie sitting on our bench behind another varsity level goalie. A lot of programs don’t have that,” said Silvesti, referring to last year’s starter, Angelina Catania. “We always knew with Kelley we would be able to continue without dropping a beat. As the season has progressed I’ve seen her confidence change. It’s been awesome to see because she’s starting to peak, hopefully at the right time.”
Hammonton has three more games to get prepared for the state playoffs, which begin in early November.
“We have Woodstown — we’re actually doing a Morgan’s Message (a nonprofit mental health in sports organization) game on Thursday, which is really big — and then two more games next week to hopefully prepare us for the state playoffs,” Silvesti said. “That’s how I’m looking at it, just get some solid competition and hopefully we can keep up the way we’ve played the last two games. In the last two games we’ve played very solidly.”
“We’re very confident,” added Crescenzo. “Our biggest challenge as a team is just composure. When we stay composed, we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Hammonton hosts Woodstown on Thursday at 4 p.m. Ocean City travels to Mainland Regional on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com
