Ocean City Edges Absegami in Boys' Lacrosse

The Ocean City High School boys' lacrosse team threatened to score throughout the game Monday.

Absegami had to settle for short bursts of counterattacks, hoping to make the most of its limited offensive chances, and the Braves defense can stand strong.

The Braves defense put up a fight, but three Red Raiders goals in the first quarter were too much to overcome, as Ocean City held on for a 5-4 victory.

"It was good to take the lead, but I'm not so happy that we couldn't keep it going," Ocean City coach Ryan Macey said. "Being held to two goals for the most of the game really hurt us. We need to keep putting the ball in the net."

Ocean City had plenty of chances to score, but Absegami goalie Brandon Ruggles and the Braves defense made the most of a busy afternoon. Although most of the game was played near the Absegami net, the Braves held the Red Raiders to just two goals over the final three quarters.

"Our defense was key to this game," Absegami coach Scott Winneberger said. "Our goalie Brandon Ruggles did a great job. The entire defensive unit did an excellent job. Playing that defense, keeping the score down was key."

Ocean City's Marc Impagliazzo found the back of the net twice, and Matt Nicholas, Alex Bartley and Christian Hartsough each scored a goal for Ocean City.

The Red Raiders swarmed to all loose balls, winning the majority of the battles.

When they had possession they were able to keep it.

"For us, possession is 90 percent of the game," Macey said.  "If they don't have the ball, they can't score. You have to take care of it when you have it. For the most part, we did a good job controlling the ball."

Absegami's Harrison Christopher scored twice and Brendon Sibson and Darren Sewell scored once.

The Braves were down 3-1 after the first period and 4-2 at halftime. Ocean City took a three-goal lead in the second half, but Absegami rallied to score the last goal of the third quarter and the only goal of the fourth.

However, their comeback bid fell short.

"The clears were a big part of it. If we could have knocked down the clears, it would have been better," Sibson said. "Clearing and passing in general needed to be better."