By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher TOMS RIVER – When you need a play made with a state championship on the line, turn to your playmaker. Kelly Hanna took a pass in from an untimed corner at the end of double overtime, summoned what little energy she had left, dribbled to the center of the field and drilled a shot to the back of the cage to lift Ocean City to a dramatic 1-0 victory over Warren Hills in the NJSIAA Group III championship game on Saturday at Toms River East High School. The rare walk-off field hockey win gave the Red Raiders (19-5) their second consecutive state championship and set off pandemonium on the field and in the stands as players swarmed Hanna and the six other players left on the field at the end of two draining, 7-on-7 overtime periods. “We had no time left and it was double overtime, so if we didn’t score we would have had to go into penalty strokes, and that was not Ocean City's Kelly Hanna, left, gets mobbed by Lauren McNally and Rachael Young (28) after scoring the game-winning goal with no time left in the Group III state championship game on Saturday in Toms River. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O'Sullivan) Ocean City’s Kelly Hanna, left, gets mobbed by Lauren McNally and Rachael Young (28) after scoring the game-winning goal with no time left in the Group III state championship game on Saturday in Toms River. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) something we wanted to do,” Hanna said. “We knew we were the better team and that was our last chance to score. The clock ran out and we knew we had to score (on that play).” Hanna said she didn’t even realize she had scored until she heard the ball hit the back of the cage and saw her teammates rush toward her. “I heard it hit the backboard. I shot it and I didn’t even look up, but I heard it and I collapsed to the ground, so happy,” said Hanna, a senior midfielder who spends much of her time directing the offense and setting up others to score. “We are back-to-back state champions and it couldn’t be better.” Last season, the Red Raiders went 21-1 en route to capturing the Group III championship. Over the past two seasons, Ocean City is 40-6. This game was an epic matchup as each team delivered its strongest offensive punch and each goalie repeatedly made huge saves to keep the game scoreless through 80 minutes. The Blue Streak’s goalie, Taylor Austin, held strong against a number of Ocean City corners, and Red Raiders goalie Sarita Charap turned in several key saves late in the second half and into overtime to record the shutout. “She’s had an awesome season,” Hanna said of Charap. “She’s really stepped up and made some crucial saves for us. It’s great to have her on the team. We couldn’t have done it without her.” “She is amazing. She’s one of a kind,” senior April Stein said of Charap, who dyed her hair blue this season. “She keeps our confidence up no matter what. We’ve been going through a battle all season and we just play with our hearts. Our team is a family.” April Stein and goalie Sarita Charap lead the charge out of the goal on a corner play by Warren Hills. April Stein and goalie Sarita Charap lead the charge out of the goal on a corner play by Warren Hills. With just less than 11 minutes to go in regulation, a weary Ocean City defense faced three straight corners from the Blue Streak. On the third, Charap made a tremendous save, and then Lauren McNally batted the rebound out of the air and cleared the ball. Charap made a pad save with two minutes to go, thwarting another scoring chance by Warren Hills (22-4-1). Warren Hills’ best scoring opportunity came in the second overtime period on the second of consecutive corners. Nikki Schott sent a ball in that was partially deflected and hit off the top rail of the cage. Ocean City had a chance to end it with 2:37 left in the second overtime, but Austin denied a penalty stroke. Ocean City defender Abby Lyons said nerves were frayed on the sidelines during the final three minutes. “It was very emotional. I was on the sideline and I just started crying (after Hanna’s goal),” Lyons said. “We came out a little bit hesitant and I think that was why it was such a battle. But it’s incredible to win. I can’t even describe it.” “I told the girls ‘this is it. This is all we have.’ And we executed and did what we had to do at the very end of the game without time left. It was awesome,” Stein said. “We have been practicing seven-a-side, expecting to go into overtime, so we were prepared for it. But I was definitely drained. My team was drained. The other team was drained. We just kept fighting.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays.