By Bob Badders - Senior Writer
WEST LONG BRANCH -- Winning blowouts is the norm for Shore Regional's girls lacrosse team. They rolled through the Shore Conference again in 2008 and have done so for several years now, but this is the state playoffs, and the Blue Devils know the days of breezing past opponents are over.
In their last two games, the Blue Devils have proven they are every bit guts and grit as they are flash and flair.
Wednesday's game against Oak Knoll could have easily gotten away from the Blue Devils, but with some timely late-game scoring and clutch defense Shore was able to hold off the Royals, 14-13, to capture the NJSIAA South Jersey Group I title. Anna Pierce's goal with 2:17 left to play gave the Blue Devils a two-goal lead and after Oak Knoll had pulled to within one, Ali Houlis came up with a key takeaway to seal Shore's fourth consecutive sectional crown.
"(Shore head coach Chris) Raichle said to us that we usually win on our talent, but today we won with our effort," said senior Kelly Draper, who paced Shore's offense with six goals. "I think that pretty much sums up the game right there."
"It's obviously more relaxing when we blow people out," Raichle said. "But every game from here on out is going to be a war and to see these kids battle to the end and pull victories out shows a lot of character."
Next up for the Blue Devils is the Group I championship game on Friday against North Jersey Group I champs Chatham, another game that is sure to test Shore's mettle in tight, back-and-forth games. And also just like in Wednesday's game, a win won't be entirely satisfying for a team that knows it has the skill and desire to be the last team standing.
"There's no time to sit back and enjoy this because we have to get ready for Friday right away," Raichle said.
"It's only a step but it's definitely a huge step," Draper said. "It's always one of our goals we set in the beginning of the season, so it's definitely important to us even though we still have a lot more we want to accomplish."
Shore jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game on goals by Cori Murray, Draper and Ali Houlis, with Pierce assisting on all three goals. This is the point where Shore usually pulls away and puts the game out of reach before its opponent can settled down, but Oak Knoll wasn't going to be one of those teams.
The Summit school fired back with four straight goals in a span of 3:17 and instantly it was obvious this was going to be a back-and-forth game. Chelsea Watts scored on a feed from Houlis to tie the game at four, but the Royals struck for two in a row by Kelsey Merghart and Bridget Nolan to take a 6-4 lead. Draper then scored her second of the game with a diving shot just outside the crease to cut the lead to 6-5.
That was the last time the Royals would have the lead, as Houlis, Draper again and Murray each scored consecutively for an 8-6 lead and Shore held an 8-7 lead at the half.
"I'd say we fell asleep a bit on the defensive end, but we got a little mad and we definitely improved on that," Draper said. "It's very cliche' but defense wins games. The scoreboard might not show it, but we did play some good defense today."
Pierce opened the second half with a goal off a pass from Draper and, after a goal by Oak Knoll's Julie Onieal, Draper scored twice to push Shore's lead to 11-8, its biggest advantage of the game since leading 3-0. Oak Knoll then ripped off three straight to tie the game at 11 before Murray scored at 14:38 of the second half to give the Blue Devils back the lead at 12-11.
Draper continued to be a force down low and used her strength to muscle to the front of the net and spin and shoot for a 13-11 lead. As Draper mentioned, allowing 13 goals might not look like a great defensive effort, but the bottom line was that when Shore needed a stop, it was able to get it.
Up 13-11, Blue Devils goalie Tori DeScenza made a key save on Allysa McIntyre, who scored four goals for the Royals, to keep the momentum on the side of the home team. Oak Knoll would eventually score to cut the lead to 13-12, but Pierce was able to beat her defender and cut straight down the middle before bouncing in the eventual game-winner with 2:17 to play. Katherine Caufield scored off the ensuring face-off to cut the Blue Devils' lead to 14-13, but Shore was able to hold possession over the final minute and a half thanks to a pivotal ground ball pickup by Houlis.
"It's a good thing Ali picked off that pass because without that they might have gone down and tied it up," Raichle said. "We saw a very good team in Oak Knoll and sometimes you're not going to be able to stop them. Each team had its runs and it was a matter of who was going to last until the end."
For nearly every game in the last four years, the team lasting to the end has been Shore. Most times the Blue Devils are cruising, their talent and experience proving to be too much to handle. But on those few occasions a year when they need to eke out a nail-biting victory, they look quite comfortable.
"It's a fight," Pierce said. "All these teams are going to have the same skill as you, so if you're going to win it's all about heart and hustle."
Box Score
(1) Shore 14, (3) Oak Knoll 13
Oak Knoll (20-3) 7 6 - 13
Shore (20-1) 8 6 - 14
Goals: (O) Alyssa McIntyre 4, Michelle Cesan 3, Julia Onieal, Kelsey Merghart, Katherine Caufield, Kelly McCabe, Bridget Nolan, Kate Rooney;
(S) Kelly Draper 6, Cori Murray 3, Ali Houlis 2, Anna Pierce 2, Chelsea Watts.
Assists: (O) Alyssa McIntyre 2, Bridget Nolan, Kate Rooney;
(S) Anna Pierce 4, Kelly Draper 2, Ali Houlis, Kaylee Mikolon.
Saves: (O) Mary Kate Spawn 6;
(S) Tori Descenza 10.
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