Ocean City Nor'easters reveal 2020 USL League Two schedule

Nor'easters' 24th season kicks off May 16, will feature a new-look Mid-Atlantic Division as club seeks league championship

Ocean City Nor'easters reveal 2020 USL League Two schedule

USL League Two released the league schedule and alignment for the 2020 season on Friday. The league will feature 82 teams across North America split into 12 divisions across four conferences with all teams playing a 14-game schedule.

This summer will mark the 24th season for the Ocean City Nor'easters (18 of them in USL League Two) as they are back in the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference for the 10th year in a row. The Nor'easters will kick off the 2020 season at home on Saturday, May 16 with a match against Evergreen FC.

The Nor'easters' home opener, and all home games, will take place at Carey Stadium, also known as "The Beach House", in "America's Greatest Family Resort" in Ocean City, N.J. Since 2003, the Nor'easters have the fourth-best home record of any team in USL League Two with an 81-26-25 mark. Kickoffs for all home games at Carey Stadium are scheduled for 7 p.m.

There will also be some exhibition games that will be announced at a later date.

"We are excited to announce our 2020 schedule for the summer," said Nor'easters general manager Giancarlo Granese Jr. "There have been a few changes to the teams in our division which we are excited about. Though these teams are new, we are very familiar with them as we have been playing against them in friendlies in recent years, and we're happy to have a team from Bermuda back on the schedule and we look forward to that. The season is just around the corner and we look forward to seeing everyone at the Beach House."

The division will play a 14-game regular season schedule again this year. The Nor'easters will have just three returning teams from last year's schedule, including Evergreen FC, Lehigh Valley United, and the defending Mid-Atlantic Division champion, and long-time rival, Reading United AC. There have been three expansion teams added to the division this year: FC Bascome Bermuda, Philadelphia Lone Star FC, and West Chester United.

Since there are only six opponents in the division this year, the Nor'easters will play an extra home and an extra road game against two teams. They will play West Chester United and Philadelphia Lone Star FC three times each, with United visiting the Beach House twice, and Ocean City traveling to Philadelphia twice.

Last year, the Nor'easters finished with a 6-3-5 regular season record, which left them just short of qualifying for the league playoffs, while playing in one of the toughest divisions in the league. Offensively, they were led by one of the top scoring duos in the league in Claudio Repetto and Deri Corfe as they accounted for 22 of the team’s 27 goals with 14 of them coming from Corfe, who shared the USL League Two scoring title. He also tied the club’s single-season record for goals (14) and points (31). With his performance, Corfe became the third player in club history to be named the USL League Two MVP, and was an easy choice as the Nor’easters’ team MVP for the second year in a row. (Check out the 2019 Season Review)

The 2019 season added to the club's impressive resume that ranks them about the best USL League Two teams in North America. Since joining USL League Two in 2003, the Nor'easters are 145-68-49, which is the sixth-best record in the league. Ocean City's 145 wins ranks 7th in USL League Two history, which dates back to 1995.

Below is the complete 2020 schedule along with a profile of each opponent. (Exhibition games will be announced at a future date):

DATE TIME HOME   AWAY VENUE

Sat., May 16, 2020

7 p.m.


Ocean City Nor'easters

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
Evergreen FC

Carey Stadium
("The Beach House")


Fri., May 22, 2020

7 p.m.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
West Chester United

Carey Stadium
("The Beach House")


Wed., May 27, 2020 7 p.m.


FC Bascome Bermuda

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

Venue TBA

Sat., May 30, 2020 7 p.m.

Ocean City Noreasters
West Chester United

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

Venue TBA

Wed., June 3, 2020

7 p.m.

Ocean City Noreasters
Evergreen FC

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

Venue TBA


Sat., June 6, 2020 7 p.m.


Reading United AC

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

Venue TBA


Sat., June 13, 2020 6 p.m.

Reading United AC
Philadelphia Lone Star FC

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

Venue TBA


Wed., June 17, 2020 7 p.m.


Lehigh Valley United

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

Venue TBA


Sat., June 20, 2020 7 p.m.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

vs.

Reading United AC
Philadelphia Lone Star FC

Carey Stadium
("The Beach House")


Sat., June 27, 2020

7 p.m.


Ocean City Nor'easters

vs.


Lehigh Valley United

Carey Stadium
("The Beach House")

Wed., July 1, 2020

6 p.m. Reading United AC
Philadelphia Lone Star FC

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

Venue TBA


Fri., July 3, 2020 7 p.m. Ocean City Noreasters
Ocean City Nor'easters

vs.


Reading United AC
Carey Stadium
("The Beach House")

Sun., July 5, 2020 7 p.m.
Ocean City Nor'easters

vs.

Ocean City Noreasters
West Chester United

Carey Stadium
("The Beach House")


Sun., July 12, 2020 7 p.m.
Ocean City Nor'easters

vs.


FC Bascome Bermuda

Carey Stadium
("The Beach House")


 
Evergreen FC Hammers
2019: 0-8-6, 8th place in the Mid-Atlantic Division

The Nor'easters have been playing against Evergreen FC since their days as the Northern Virginia Royals. The Nor'easters first met them (as the Royals) in 2004, and despite the Royals being a pro team, Ocean City defeated them, 3-1. From that day, the Nor'easters began their all-time unbeaten streak against Evergreen FC which is currently at 16 games (14-0-2). Last year, after Ocean City beat the Hammers in the team's 2019 home opener at the Beach House on June 1 on a late goal by Ilias Kosmidis, the Storm's 12-game winning streak came to an end. A little more than a month later, Claudio Repetto's 90th minute penalty kick denied Evergreen their first win over Ocean City, and saved a point (and the unbeaten streak) for the Nor'easters with a 2-2 draw.
 
   
FC Bascome Bermuda
Expansion team


For the first time since 2012, the Nor'easters will have a team from Bermuda on their schedule. From 2010-12, the Nor'easters were division rivals with the Bermuda Hogges, a club that later folded. Now, a new team has emerged under the leadership of their owner and head coach Andrew Bascome.


 
Lehigh Valley United Sonic Lehigh Valley United
2019: 4-7-3, 6th place in Mid-Atlantic Division


Lehigh Valley United had a really challenging first two years in the PDL. United won just a single game in 2015 and upped that total to three in 2016. They won four games in 2017, but the club took a step back in 2018 with just one win. In 2019, they won four games (and earned three draws) in one of the toughest divisions in the league. The club joined USL League Two after five years in the National Premier Soccer League where they won the league championship in 2012 and made the playoffs in four of the five seasons, including two appearances in the national final four. Last year, the two teams split the season series as Ocean City lost to Lehigh Valley for just the second time in club history, falling 2-0 on the road. The Storm bounced back with a 4-3 home win on June 28 to improve their all-time record against United 9-2-0.
 
Jersey Express Philadelphia Lone Star FC
Expansion Team


The Philadelphia Lone Star are joining USL League Two as an expansion team in 2020, but this won't be the first time they have played against the Nor'easters. The first time they met was in the 2017 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup when Ocean City blanked Lone Star FC (back when they were under the name "Junior Lone Star FC"), 3-1 in the First Round of the tournament. The two teams met again last year in an exhibition game when Lone Star were a member of the NPSL. The game finished in a 1-1 draw with Deri Corfe scoring the lone goal and Philadelphia's only tally was an Ocean City own goal.

Lone Star has been a club since 2001, playing in various Philadelphia area leagues before joining the NPSL where they remained until this past season.
 
Reading United AC Reading United AC
2019: 10-1-3, 1st place in Mid-Atlantic Division


Reading United AC are the Nor'easters' oldest rivals. Reading joined the D-3 Pro League in 1996, the year before Ocean City launched. Since then, they have played 50 times both as professional and USL League Two teams. After Reading swept both regular season meetings in 2016, the two met in the Eastern Conference championship game. It was the first time the two long-time rivals had met in a playoff game and it was Ocean City that pervailed, winning 4-1 on the road. It snapped a six-game winless streak against United and it was their first win at Reading in 10 years. Last year, the two teams split the season series with the Nor'easters winning the 50th meeting at the Beach House (July 7) with a 4-1 win. Deri Corfe scored a hat trick that day which padded his USL League Two MVP resume on his way to sharing the league scoring title.
 
New York Red Bulls U23 West Chester United SC
Expansion Team


West Chester United, which was founded in 1976, has quickly become one of the top amateur clubs in the region since their first season of their adult soccer program in 2008. They have racked up a long list of accomplishments including four straight United Soccer League of Pennsylvania titles (2015-19), the 2015 Werner Fricker Open Cup championship, and finishing as the 2018 USASA Amateur Cup runner-up.

West Chester has teams that compete in a variety of leagues such as the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania, and the NPSL. They will be competing in the 2020 US Open Cup this spring, qualifying as a member of the NPSL. This will be the club's third all-time tournament appearance.

These two teams have met once before. On July 2, 2018, West Chester United visited the Beach House with the Nor'easters coming out on top, 1-0 on a late goal by Abdul Mansaray. Jimmy Slayton and Gus Valeriano shared the shutout in goal.
   

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