By LESLEY GRAHAM
The Ocean City girls soccer team faced off against an aggressive Williamstown team Monday in the South Jersey Coaches Association Tournament, defeating the visiting Braves, 2-1.
Scoring for the Red Raiders were Faith Slimmer and Paige Panico with a goal apiece. Summer Reimet and Hope Slimmer each added an assist for Ocean City.
Early in the opening half, both teams had scoring opportunities. Williamstown had an early corner kick, but thanks to great heads-up defense and ball control, the Red Raiders were able to escape without consequence.
With around 10 minutes gone in the first, Summer Reimet made a beautiful pass to Faith Slimmer, who found the back of the net, giving Ocean City a 1-0 lead.
As the half wore on, Ocean City dominated the pace of play and possession time. With precise movement, the Red Raiders took advantage of their lead.
But Williamstown was not going to lie down without a fight. The Braves turned on their aggressiveness and intensity in the final minutes of the half, but wound up scoreless going into half time.
As the second half got underway, a somewhat controversial call was made. The official called Ocean City for a handball inside the box, although was unable to say which player was at fault.
Williamstown set up for the penalty kick. Jamie DeHaven then powered one past Ocean City’s Abbey Fenton to knot the score at 1-1.
The next five minutes included a flurry of momentum changes as emotions ran high among both teams. Once things settled down, Ocean City once again found its groove, including precise ball movement, passes and attacks.
With just over 27 minutes remaining in the game, Ocean City’s Paige Panico maneuvered through traffic on a pass from Hope Slimmer, sliding one past Williamstown’s goalkeeper to give Ocean City the game-winning goal.
Ocean City Head Coach Kelly Halliday said she was happy with the result, but more importantly with the mental and physical toughness the team showed throughout the game.
“We had a lot of great moments tonight as a team and kept our heads about ourselves, which shows our maturity and dedication to team first,” said Halliday. “Senior Delaney Lappin and freshman Riley Fortna had some key defensive plays for us tonight and senior Carly Reighard completely controlled the game for us from the midfield.”
As the Red Raiders look ahead to the state playoffs, they will continue on their journey for the title of South Jersey Coaches Association Tournament champions. Ocean City will play Rancocas Valley in the semifinals on Wednesday at a neutral site, DeCou Fields in Cherry Hill.
