Finley Elias Gets Hat-Trick in Shore’s 8-0 Win Over Ocean

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Marielle Montenergo (22) of Shore Regional takes a shot on the Ocean Township goal, but Gianna Canavan (94) made one of her game-high 21 saves.

Scoring her first three goals of her high school career was Finley Elias (16) a freshman at Shore Regional, who beat Ocean 8-0.

Scoring three goals in a game is known as a hat-trick, and it’s a very difficult task to accomplish. Tuesday afternoon, a freshman midfielder for the Shore Regional High School varsity field hockey team, scored three goals and assisted on another in the 8-0 win over Ocean Township High School.

Finley Elias is the rookie on the Blue Devils squad who accomplished the hat-trick. They were the first three goals of her high school career, and notched her third assist of the year. Shore Regional entered the game with a perfect 4-0 record, beating Allentown 3-0 to start the season and then had a 2-1 win over Point Boro, an 8-0 victory over St. Rose and 3-1 win at Haddonfield. In the wins over St. Rose and Haddonfield, Elias had an assist in each game.

Shore Regional has been a powerhouse in field hockey for over four decades, and having talented freshman and sophomores year in and year out, only solidifies their dominance. As a tiny Group 1 school (Group 1 consists of schools with the lowest student population) the Blue Devils play larger programs and are currently ranked eighth in the state.

“This week we have four games. We had some stiff competition already playing the number one ranked team in the Shore Conference, Point Pleasant Borough, as well as Allentown and Haddonfield. This week we are playing in the Max Invitational Tournament for the first time ever at the Proving Grounds in Pennsylvania,” said Kelly Koenig, head coach at Shore. This is an elite tournament where some of the best programs in the country will face off. “We are excited for the opportunity to match up against two top teams, one from New York and the other is from Maryland.”

Shore had two goals in the first quarter, three in the second taking a 5-0 lead into the halftime break. The second half had the Blue Devils adding three additional goals in the third quarter. Marielle Montenegro, sophomore, had two goals for Shore. Senior Brooke Schulze had one goal as did Claudia Buffano, sophomore. Also getting one goal and assisting on four others was Junior Emma Haynes. In the cage for the Devils was Teagan Harmon, senior, who had one save.

Both Shore and Ocean play in the A North division of the Shore Conference. As of this story, both Shore and Rumson-Fair Haven are undefeated at 5-0. Middletown South follows at 3-1, then comes Ocean 3-2, Monmouth Regional 4-0 (no divisional opponents yet) Colts Neck 3-2, and Freehold Township 0-5.

“Each challenging game we play this season pushes us to grow and move closer towards our goals. We have a committed group of returning players, who now have experience under their belt and are unafraid to work hard and go after what they want this season,” said Koenig.

“Playing Shore was a learning experience,” said Alyssa Smialowicz, head coach of the Spartans. Ocean is also a team loaded with underclassman. They have one freshman, six sophomores, eight juniors and three seniors on their roster. “We played well against very talented girls and didn’t give up. We have girls with a lot of experience and others who are new to the game but are willing to work hard and learn.”

The score could have been much worse for Ocean, if it was for the exceptional job of Gianna Canavan, sophomore goalkeeper. She made an incredible 21 saves in the loss to Shore Regional. This season she has 39 saves in the five games they have played.

“I’m lucky to have the team I do. They have positive attitudes and strive to do better each day for themselves and their teammates. We have a long way to go this season, but we’re taking it day by day,” said Smialowicz.

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