CAPE MAY — After a tight first quarter, the Ocean City Red Raiders locked in and snapped a three-game losing streak on the road against a strong Lower Cape May Caper Tiger team.
The Raiders closed out the final three quarters on a 7-3 scoring run to secure the 11-6 win over the Caper Tigers April 17. Charlie Beseris led the Raiders with three goals while Otter Donohue scored his first two goals of the season.
The two sophomores helped Ocean City pull ahead before halftime alongside their aggressive defense unit.
Beseris scored twice within a two-minute span to give the Raiders a three-goal lead heading into the second half. Donohue and Dominic Vallese got on the board as well but knew the game was far from over.
“We just had to know it was 0-0 and that team isn’t going to quit,” Donohue said about the half-time conversation. “We had a tight game with them last year and we knew coming in it wasn’t going to be anything easy, so we had to be going at 100 percent the whole time,”
Usual offensive threats Nolan O’Kane and Anthony Pontari each scored once, but helped the Raiders with three assists each.
The aggressive Raider defense held Lower to two goals in the second half and forced multiple turnovers which helped James Burger get through his first career start at goalie.
“Where I thought today we did a good job was we were taking away that second or third look off the initial dodge they would have,” Ocean City head coach Joe LaTorre said. “Hats off to Burger. it was his first career start and he made a lot of quality saves to keep us in the game. I am very proud of the guys getting a win here against an elite conference team.”
Lower proved how fast they can score earlier in the game after face-off specialist Zac Castellano set up a goal in the first 10 seconds.
The senior won the opening tip and quickly passed the ball around until Cole Lewis’s shot got behind Burger for an instant lead.
Castellano was dominant in his role for the Caper Tigers and proved to be a problem all day long. He won 80 percent of his face-offs and gave Lower a chance on offense every time he came out onto the field.
“My hat’s off to Lower. I mean every year since Cole Blackley has taken over for them it has been a one- or two-goal game,” LaTorre said. “Last year was a thriller in double-overtime. He and his coaching staff do a great job with their guys, and I’ll tell you what – today could have gone either way.”
Lewis is one of the only freshmen on the LCMR roster and has made an instant impact with 13 goals so far this season, a team high. Senior Corson Hughes scored a hat trick against Ocean City for his highest scoring game of the season.
The Caper Tigers fell to 3-5 on the season with the loss after winning three of their last four games. Alongside Lewis is a group of versatile seniors such as Castellano and Hughes, who round out the team and help elevate everyone else around them.
Along with Lewis, the offense has been run through Ryan Gibson, who leads the team in points and already has 15 assists this year.
He has helped Dennis Serra and Jaxon Turner reach double digit goals and has scored eight of his own through eight games.
The Caper Tigers had a full week of rest following the Ocean City game and their next game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, April 24, on the road against St. Joseph in Hammonton.
Their next home game will be on April 28 against Williamstown High School. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
With the win over Lower, the defending Cape Atlantic League champion Raiders improved their conference record to 2-0 and overall record to 3-4. After a long out-of-conference schedule, Ocean City will soon face off against more great Cape-Atlantic League teams, starting with their biggest rival.
Ocean City’s next game will be the always highly anticipated matchup against the Mainland Mustangs at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 24.
Ocean City swept Mainland 3-0 last year, but the red-hot Mustangs will enter the game with a 6-2 record. The game will be at Carey Stadium in Ocean City.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Cape May Star and Wave
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Cape May Star and Wave and Ocean City Sentinel staff
