Ocean City Nor'easters Win Long-Awaited Home Opener

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Home sweet home. After opening the season with an extended road trip, the Ocean City Nor’easters men’s soccer team shut out the Long Island Rough Riders, 2-0, in their home opener Sunday night at Carey Stadium.

Simone Raiola (Grand View Univ. / Triuggo, Italy) and Alex Rose (North Carolina / Cary, NC) each scored their first goals of the season, as the Nor’easters avenged a 1-0 loss to the Rough Riders from earlier in the season. Goalie Todd Morton (Delaware / West Chester, PA) made his season debut and made two saves to secure his fifth career shutout.

"We were up for this game from the first minute,” Nor’easters coach John Thompson said. “We just had some really great moments in the game and we battled hard for the win until the final whistle."

Raiola scored his second goal in all competitions this season in the 15th minute after he intercepted a pass in Ocean City’s offensive third and drilled the ball into the back of the net from 35 yards out. Raiola also scored in Ocean City’s 3-0 win over AFC Ann Arbor in the first round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Rose scored in the second half, with an assist from Fredlin "Fredinho" Mompremier (Fairleigh Dickinson / Limbe, Haiti). Rose, who will be a sophomore at North Carolina in the fall, is ranked No. 39 on the PDL's Top Prospects list.

Ocean City is now 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Premier Development League. The Nor’easters played six games before playing in front of the home fans at the Beach House, but the homecoming is short-lived.

The Nor’easters head back out on the road to visit Evergeen FC in Virginia on Saturday, June 9, 7 p.m. Their next home game is Wednesday, June 20, when they host Reading United AC, 7 p.m.

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