By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher Moorestown came into Tuesday’s South Jersey Group III boys soccer semifinal having outscored its opponents 9-1 in the first two rounds of the sectional playoffs. But there is a reason Ocean City is the No. 1 seed. The Red Raiders came into the game with a clean sheet, having blanked Pinelands 4-0 and Hammonton 3-0 on their road to the sectional final four. That trend continued Tuesday, as Ocean City shut out the visiting Quakers 3-0 to set up a showdown with third-seeded Timber Creek, a 2-1 winner over No. 2 Delsea Regional. On a blustery and bitterly cold afternoon at the Tennessee Avenue fields, Kyle Millar gave the Red Raiders (13-3-1) the spark they needed just before halftime. Senior captain Brendan Macfarlane shoved a pass to Zack Sakena off a quick restart near the right corner and Millar finished off Sakena’s assist by pounding a shot into the back left corner of the net. That goal gave Ocean City a huge momentum boost after a rough first half that saw Moorestown carded with yellows three times. Junior Kyle Millar (4) gets mobbed by teammates after scoring to put Ocean City ahead 2-0 in the second half of Tuesday's sectional semifinal against Moorestown. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O'Sullivan) Junior Kyle Millar (4) gets mobbed by teammates after scoring to put Ocean City ahead 2-0 in the second half of Tuesday’s sectional semifinal against Moorestown. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) “At practice we’ve been pattern-passing every day and that’s exactly what we did,” Millar said. “We get the ball to the end line and then a cross in, and I was lucky to finish it.” “We did what we’ve been doing all year. In the second half we stopped dribbling in the center of the field and got it out wide, bring it back to the center and get it in the back of the net,” Macfarlane said. “The best time to score a goal is in the first two minutes of the game or the last two minutes in the half. We scored at the perfect time. It was a quick free kick, they weren’t ready for it and we were.” Ocean City’s midfield controlled the pace throughout much of the first half and its defense, led by Steve Pashuck, held strong against the Quakers’ counter-attacking offense. Goalie Evan McCardell wasn’t seriously challenged in the first half. His only real test came in the second half when he made an outstanding save and Sean Laux cleared the rebound to help bail McCardell out of a jam. “Our defense has been solid all year and Steve is just a wall back there. He’s solid,” Millar said. “That’s what we try to do every game, win the midfield battle and try to get the ball to the outside,” Macfarlane said. Zach Sakena, left, works for possession against a Moorestown player during the first half. Sakena finished with a pair of assists for Ocean City. Zach Sakena, left, works for possession against a Moorestown player during the first half. Sakena finished with a pair of assists for Ocean City. Millar put the game on ice in the 53rd minute, taking a pass from Ryan Sual inside the 18-yard box, taking a moment to corral it, then blasting a shot into the upper left of the net to give the Red Raiders a commanding 2-0 lead. “I had a pretty bad touch to start with, but luckily I was able to get my foot on it again and just blast it,” Millar said. “It was a good shot to the far post.” Tommy Matera added the capping goal with less than four minute left off the second assist of the game by Sakena. Millar, a junior, said he is happy the seniors will get a chance to play for a South Jersey championship. “It means a lot. The seniors have put in a lot of hard work. It’s a good group of kids,” Millar said. “We all work hard at practice, there’s no goofing off. It means the world to us.” “We’re very excited,” Macfarlane said. “We played Timber Creek once (a 3-0 loss in the Coaches Tournament) and a couple things didn’t go our way. Hopefully this time, at our place, things will go our way.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays.