Nor'easters Kick Off U.S. Open Cup With Road Win

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The Ocean City Nor’easters’ long road trip to open the season will continue. Ocean City defeated AFC Ann Arbor in the first round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Eastern Michigan University Wednesday night.

The Nor’easters will now travel to Matthews, N.C., to face the Charlotte Independence, of the United Soccer League (USL) in the second round. That game is set for Wednesday night, May 16, 7 p.m. at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex.

Williams N’Dah put the Nor’easters on the board in the 11th minute, Simone Raioli scored Ocean City’s second goal in the 27th. Fredinho Mompremier added Ocean City’s third goal in the second half. Deri Corfe had a pair of assists, on N’Dah and Mompremier’s goals.

Alex Smir made his debut in goal, stopping seven shots in the shutout. The Nor'easters kicked off the 105th edition of the oldest cup competition in the United States after only being together for a couple of days.

"We think it was an impressive performance considering it was our first competitive game with this new team," Nor'easters coach John Thompson said. "We did well to go up early and later close the game out in a professional manner."

In between trips to Michigan and North Carolina, Ocean City will come close to home this weekend, but won’t quite see the confines of The Beach House just yet. Ocean City opens its Premier Development League campaign on Sunday, May 13, when they visit FA Euro New York. The game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn.

In fact, the Nor’easters might not play in front of the home fans at Carey Stadium until June 3, when long-time rival Long Island Rough Riders pay a visit for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

If Ocean City wins in North Carolina next week, it may play a home game in the third round of the tournament on May 23, but potential third round matchups have not yet been set. Whenever they do make it home, the Nor’easters have a distinct advantage.

Since 2003, the Nor'easters have the fifth-best home record of any team in their league with a 71-24-23 mark. In last year's U.S. Open Cup, they were 1-1 at home, defeating Junior Lone Star FC, 3-1, and falling to Harrisburg on sudden death penalty kicks.

Modeled after England's FA Cup, the US Open Cup is the second-oldest continually-operating soccer tournament in the world and has been the national championship for the United States since it launched in 1913. The tournament is open to professional and amateur teams from MLS to Sunday beer league teams and everything in between. The tournament winner will receive $300,000 and a spot in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.

For more on the tournament, including first round results and all matchups for the second round, visit thecup.us.

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