By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Publisher
OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City field hockey team knows it has to face the best competition it can before the state playoffs begin in November. So, why not schedule two of the top five teams in the state on back-to-back Saturdays to test its mettle?
The Red Raiders lost, 4-2, to West Essex — the No. 3 team in nj.com’s state rankings and No. 13 in the nation according to maxfieldhockey.com — but bounced back this Saturday in a big way, holding Oak Knoll scoreless in the second half to hang on to a 3-2 victory.
Oak Knoll came into the game No. 2 in the state (nj.com) and No. 8 in the nation (maxfieldhockey.com). The loss to West Essex bumped Ocean City out of the state’s top 10 (to No. 11), but Saturday night’s win in front of a passionate crowd at Carey Stadium likely will vault the Red Raiders back into the top eight.
“It feels awesome. I think I’m going to go into adrenaline fatigue now,” said Ocean City coach Cory Terry. “It’s crazy intense and really exciting. It was the same way at West Essex, and that coach and I were saying we wish we could play games like this every day.”
“The vibes were really good going into the game. We knew who we were playing, but we really didn’t take that into consideration much. It feels a lot better after last week, driving all the way up (to West Essex). Now we can send someone home on a wet bus ride knowing we won,” said senior captain Nicholl Fenton, who led a Red Raiders defensive effort that kept the Royals off the scoreboard the entire second half. “It was a good test for us. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to in the second half. Things started falling apart a little bit, especially since we had so much momentum in the first half. But it’s reassuring to know we can hold a lead against the No. 2 team in the state.”

Britney Stein gave the Red Raiders the early lead when she knocked in a rebound in the fifth minute, and Ocean City extended its lead to 2-0 about 10 minutes later when Grace Steele deflected a Julia Herrington shot into the cage. The Royals responded with 2:16 left in the first half, as Isabelle Clark scored to cut the deficit to 2-1. But Ocean City answered 27 seconds later when Herrington ripped a shot from just inside the circle and scored to give the Red Raiders a 3-1 lead.

Oak Knoll, however, scored with just three second left in the first half as the Royals’ top player, Ali McCarthy, hit a nifty backhanded shot from the left side that scooted past Ocean City keeper Maddie Kahn. Kahn was on point throughout the second half, however, making several key saves on corners and along with the defense was able to hold McCarthy in check.
“She was really good,” Fenton said of McCarthy. “Preparing for states and next year, going to college, every girl is going to be like her, so it was a great test for all of us. She’s really good. It was fun playing against her.”
“I have been telling these girls from the start that they have it if they just stick to the plan and believe in it and do the simple things. If they are strong and confident, they are incredible,” Terry said. “I thought the first half could have been 5-0 or 5-1, and in the second half we actually played bad the majority of the half. We played very defensive and did not stick to our passing game. We started sagging back and we started playing with two groups — one upfield and one in the back — and lost the complete middle transition for the passing game, which is what we thrive on and what we need to play.”
Ocean City has another tough test later this month, when it travels to Eastern Regional to take on the Vikings, the No. 1 team in the state — and the country, according to maxfieldhockey.com.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays