Ocean City, NJ - The Ocean City Nor’easters have seen over 120 former players go on to reach the professional level. As the leading path to pro in South Jersey, Ocean City prides itself on the success of their alumni.

2024 saw many former Storm players achieve individual and team-wide successes. 6 Nor'easter alumni signed their first pro contracts. Storm alumni won a trophy in every level of the US Soccer pyramid, from MLS to USL-League One. There are Nor’easters playing for professional teams across the world from North America to Europe, and even as far away as Indonesia. Ocean City alumni represented their national teams in the Nations League, World Cup Qualifying, and at the Copa América. 

This is part 3 of an article series tracking active Nor’easter Alumni. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here:

2024 Ocean City Alumni Recap 

2024 Ocean City Alumni Recap Part 2

Read on to see how the next group of pros did in 2024 from the Copa América to the Canadian Premier League and everything in between!

Jahmali Waite (Fairleigh Dickinson/Univ. of Connecticut/Philadelphia, PA) became the first Nor’easter to participate at the prestigious Copa América. After making his tournament debut with Jamaica at the 2023 Gold Cup, Waite was again selected to a major international tournament in 2024. In June, he earned 2 wins in World Cup Qualifiers, keeping a clean sheet against the Dominican Republic. At the Copa, He played in all 3 of Jamaica’s group stage games and notably made 8 saves in the opener against Mexico. Waite returned to El Paso Locomotive and finished strong, ending with 6 clean sheets on the year. Waite totaled 2,880 minutes played across 27 club appearances and 5 national team starts.

Chevy Walsh (Jefferson College/Spanish Town, Jamaica) displayed great perseverance in 2024. After finishing as Portmore United’s top scorer in the Jamaican Premier League last season, he would need to overcome a serious injury before seeing the field for them again. Before the start of the 2024 JPL season, Walsh suffered a knee injury that required meniscus surgery. Between the recovery and the necessary physical therapy, he was sidelined for more than 3 months, missing 13 games of the season. On Decemeber 22nd, he was named to Portmore's game day roster for the first time in the 2024/25 campaign. In the next game, on December 29th, he successfully returned to action. Walsh was subbed on in the second half against Cavalier and helped PMU earn a 1-1 draw against the reigning champs. 

Over the summer, he participated in the second ever TST. “The Soccer Tournament” is a sort of celebrity, 7-a-side soccer tournament, with a similar format to the World Cup. Notably, it features a winner-take-all $1 Million dollar cash prize. With the JPL out of season, Walsh joined the Reggae Rovers, a team consisting of Caribbean footballers. It was formed with the goal of spotlighting one of the world’s most vibrant and talented football regions. Walsh scored 4 goals and added an assist, playing in 6 games and helping the Rovers reach the Quarter-Finals. 

Dominic Samuel (Southern New Hampshire Univ./Toronto, ONT, Canada) helped Forge FC win a second Canadian Premier League Shield and reach the Grand Final. In 2024, Samuel appeared in 28 games for the Forge in all competitions, helping the Hammers achieve the best regular season record. Despite mainly being used as a substitute, only starting 5 regular season games, Samuel re-entered the starting lineup in the playoffs.

Samuel went the full 90 minutes in the Semi-Final, helping Forge FC defeat Atlético Ottawa 2-1, and reach a third straight Grand Final. He again went the full 90 minutes in the Final but the Forge suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat. After the conclusion of the 2024 CPL season, Samuel opted to leave Forge FC and will seek new opportunities as a free agent. A member of the team since 2019, Samuel ends his time as a Hammer with 159 appearances, 4 league titles, and 2 regular season titles, including back-to-back league championship wins in 2022 and 2023. 

Joshua Bolma (University of Maryland/Accra, Ghana) completed his second professional season, both with the New England Revolution. Bolma logged 25 appearances in 2024, all with Revolution II in MLS Next Pro. He started 9 games, including a run of 8 straight starts, for a total of 1,153 minutes. He finished with 1 goal and 2 assists and also converted his 2 shootout attempts, helping Revolution II earn an extra point in 2 regular season draws. Bolma is now a free agent. He ends his time with the Revs having made 4 appearances with the Revolution first team and 43 with Revolution II. He scored 3 goals and notched 4 assists with the Next Pro outfit. 

Emil Cuello (Southern Methodist Universtiy/Buenos Aires, Argentina) played an important role in Phoenix Rising FC reaching the post-season. Usually a midfielder, interim manager Diego Gómez deployed Cuello in defense. After switching to left back, Cuello started the 10 remaining games he was available for. Prior to the August 24th game versus North Carolina, Rising had won just one of their previous five games. Following Cuello’s start at left back, they won 3 of their next 5 games, which helped Phoenix Rising reach the playoffs. He ended 2024 logging 29 appearances with a total of 1,556 minutes and notched 4 assists. He played all 90 minutes in 4 appearances at left back, including the USL Playoffs Round of 16 match versus New Mexico United. Cuello’s performances resulted in Phoenix opting to pick up the Argentinian’s contract option for 2025.

Raheem Somersall (Appalachian State Univ./Florida Gulf Coast Univ./Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis) helped North Carolina FC reach the post-season. After helping North Carolina win the USL League One title in 2023, Somersall moved up to the Championship with the Cary based club in 2024. He was a day one starter, playing the full 90 minutes at midfield in the season opening game versus Charleston Battery. He notched his first USL-C assist in a 4-0 win over Miami FC on May 25th. He recorded 24 appearances in all competitions with NCFC, totaling 748 minutes, as North Carolina qualified to the playoffs. Additionally, he logged two appearances with the Saint Kitts and Nevis national team, playing in two international friendlies against San Marino. He started both games, scoring one goal as St. Kitts won the first match 3-1 and tied the second 0-0.

Check back next week for Part 4!

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