McNally, Red Raiders overpower Mustangs in state playoffs, set single-season scoring mark

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher OCEAN CITY – How focused is the Ocean City field hockey team on winning another state championship? The Red Raiders held practice on Thursday afternoon. After beating rival Mainland 8-0 at Trish LeFever Field in the second round of the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs. The Red Raiders are on a mission to defend their Group 3 title, and that was evident in the first few minutes against the Mustangs, a team that nearly knocked off Ocean City in the sectional final a year ago. Coming off a 6-1 loss to national powerhouse Eastern Regional on Tuesday – the first loss of the season for Ocean City – the Red Raiders blitzed the Mustangs’ defense early and often, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first six minutes on a pair of Lauren McNally goals and another by Jordan Allegretto. All three goals were scored off corners, as the Red Raiders dominated the circle. They finished with 24 corners and out-shot Mainland 32-1. “I definitely wanted it, and the whole team wanted it. We definitely put all of our energy together. We were so pumped. We caravanned here, we couldn’t sit still in class. We were all ready for the game,” said McNally, a senior who has helped lead Ocean City to consecutive Group 3 state championships. “We had hoped to come out on top in the first two minutes, that’s our goal for every game. (The quick start) was surprising, but it felt amazing.” “We were really in the moment and pumped up for this game,” Maria Farnan said. “They are one of our rivals and, yes, they are a skilled team. They have some strong girls in the circle, so it was nice to get a quick lead on them and add more and more throughout the game.” Senior Lauren McNally scored the game’s first two goals and finished with three as Ocean City upended rival Mainland 8-0 on Thursday in the second round of the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Rialee Allen scored consecutive goals to push the lead to 5-0, the first coming with eight minutes left in the first half and the second with two minutes remaining, and McNally scored her third goal of the game off an untimed corner just before halftime to make it 6-0. Ocean City (19-1), ranked No. 3 in the state by NJ.com, scored six of its eight goals off corners to overwhelm the defense of Mainland (12-8-1). By scoring eight goals, Ocean City set a new single-season team scoring mark of 149 goals. The 2009 team held the old record of 148. Ocean City will take on the Central Regional Golden Eagles in the next round of the playoffs next week. Farnan, who scored Ocean City’s only goal in the loss to Eastern, the top-ranked team in the nation, on Tuesday, added a second-half goal and Allegretto added her second goal of the game with 13:25 left in the game to cap the scoring. Allen and senior Kelly Hanna each finished with a pair of assists. McNally said facing a team like Eastern was exactly what the Red Raiders needed to gear up for the sectional playoffs. “We played one of our best games against Eastern and it helped us with learning the passing game and learning what our weaknesses are and how we can fix them. I think we fixed some of them today,” McNally said. Farnan agreed. “It was really good preparation for playoffs. They are obviously a great team and they make us work. They force us to make changes. It’s a great way to get ready for the playoffs,” the junior said. Mainland Regional defenders charge out from the cage on an Ocean City corner. The Mustangs had to endure 24 corners by the Red Raiders’ offense. Farnan said she was impressed with the intensity McNally came out with against the Mustangs, and that when McNally and Hanna are putting pressure on opposing defenses it gives the rest of the Raiders a jolt of energy. “This was (Lauren’s) last time playing Mainland, so I think she definitely wanted to make an impression because it’s always fun playing against them,” Farnan said. “It gets us pumped up when (Lauren and Kelly) are intense and in the moment. It carries over to us and we go all-out. I think we are doing a lot of great things. We obviously have to make some improvements in some of our skills, but we’re working hard in practice. We’re getting out there and making the adjustments that coach (Cory) Terry tells us to make, and just trying to improve every day.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]