The Ocean City Nor'easters' 2022 defensive unit will be a tough act to follow. But the 2023 team has the talent to challenge last year's record-breaking accomplishments.

2023 Ocean City Nor'easters Player Profiles

2023 Nor’easters Goalkeepers 2023 Nor’easters Forwards   2023 Nor'easters Midfielders

In 2022, the Ocean City defense broke single-season club records for a 14-game season. They allowed just nine goals, and had the best team goals against average (0.64). Goalkeeper Felix Schafer, who played the majority of the minutes in between the sticks, led the league in goals against average (0.55) and was awarded the USL League Two Golden Glove.

There are two members of last year's defense returning for 2023: Marco Torino and the team's Creative Player of the Year, Galen Flynn. But they add a lot of new talent, including multiple players who were all-conference selections for their NCAA Division I programs, and another who was a 3-time NAIA All-American.

Meet the 2023 defenders below (in alphabetical order):

Shane Clancy (Jacksonville Univ. / Sicklerville, NJ)

Another New Jersey native who made his way to an NCAA Division I program is Shane Clancy. The Sicklerville native played his freshman season at Jacksonville University. He started 11 of the 12 games he played in and scored his first collegiate goal in the first game of his career (and the team's first game of the season) against Detroit Mercy. He was named to the conference All-Freshman Team. Prior to arriving in Jacksonville, he was a standout at St. Augustine Prep.

Joao de Oliveira (Bethel College / Santa Catarina, Brazil)

 

When de Oliveira arrives at the Beach House, he will have a familiar face alongside him. He joins the Nor’easters along with his Bethel College (Ind.) teammate Andre “Dede” Sabino. The two of them also played in both of Ocean City's 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup games in March and April of this year. Joao played every minute of both games as the Nor'easters beat West Chester United 3-1 on the road in Round 1 and fell to professional side Maryland Bobcats (NISA) 3-2 on a last-second goal in extra time. Sabino and de Oliveira won an NAIA national championship last year with the Pilots and both played key roles in lifting that trophy. De Oliveira finished his college career with several accolades. He was a three-time NAIA All-American, and he was named the conference’s Player of the Year (2021) and Defensive Player of the Year (2022). He also has experience in USL League Two having suited up for the South Bend Lions and helping them win a conference title.

Brad Dildy (Univ. of Charlotte / San Antonio, TX)

Brad Dildy arrived in Charlotte from San Antonio and had no trouble adjusting to Division I college soccer. He was part of a University of Charlotte team that led the nation in scoring during the regular season and he tied for the team lead with seven assists. He also scored his first career goal on the road against Central Florida. He was named to the American Athletic Conference’s All-Freshman team. Before heading off to college, Dildy was a three-time all-state selection and was named the San Antonio High School Player of the Year and later played for the San Antonio FC youth academy.

Galen Flynn (St. Louis Univ. / West Hartford, CT)

Flynn was a big part of the Nor'easters' record-breaking defense in 2022. Statistics don't always tell the full story in the game of soccer, as Flynn played a big role in creating goalscoring opportunities and played exceptional defense all season long. As a result, the Fordham University product was named Ocean City's Creative Player of the Year. Flynn was one of five players on the roster to play every game for the Nor'easters, and finished third on the team in minutes played (1,198). He scored a goal and added two assists, with two of those three scoring plays leading to game-winners. Flynn scored the game-winning goal on June 11 in a 3-1 road win over Lehigh Valley United. He also added a game-winning assist on May 27 in a 2-1 home win over the Philadelphia Lone Star FC.

Flynn played three seasons at Fordham University, including winning an Atlantic-10 championship. This past season, his season was cut short by injury. Next season, he is transferring to St. Louis University.

Josh Jones (Louisville / Hatfield, PA)

Jones traveled from a small town north of Philadelphia to Kentucky to play for ACC powerhouse Louisville. In his first season at Louisville, Jones immediately earned a starting job (16 starts in 18 games) and scored two goals and added an assist. Last season, he was one of two Cardinals to start every game of the season and led the team in minutes played. Jones scored three goals and had an assist as he helped the Cardinals reach the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. Last summer, he suited up for the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals and was voted the NPSL Young Player of the Season by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Yousif Kowa (Buffalo State / Buffalo, NY)

After starting the first three seasons of his college career at Niagara University, Kowa transferred to Buffalo State where he was an all-conference selection. He was one of the team’s starting center backs and chipped in a goal and an assist and helped secure four clean sheets. Kowa was also nominated for Buffalo State’s Male Athlete of the Year out of all the sports at the university.

Bryce Meredith (Univ. of Memphis / Raleigh, NC)

Meredith started his college career at Lehigh University and after two seasons he transferred to the University of Memphis. Last season, as a senior, he started 16 of the 18 games he played in and helped the Tigers earn six shutout wins. Meredith also helped Memphis make history by qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004. He would make some personal history in that first NCAA tournament game when he scored his first career goal against Saint Louis University. His 76th minute goal tied the game at 2-2, but Memphis would eventually fall 4-2 in extra time.

Jan Riecke (Harvard / Berlin, Germany)

Riecke began his playing career in his native Germany when he played for FC Union Berlin’s youth academy. He got an opportunity to train with the Youth German National Team and eventually ended up traveling to the United States for college where he enrolled at Harvard. He didn’t waste any team making an impression with the Crimson. He led the team in minutes played (played all but 10 minutes of the season) and was part of a defense that had four clean sheets. As a result he was an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection. Last year, as a sophomore, he led the team in minutes again, but this time he played all but seven minutes of the campaign. The team posted six clean sheets and he was a First Team All-Ivy League selection, along with Nor’easters teammate Alessandro Arlotti.

Marco Torino (St. Peter’s Univ. / Westchester, NY)

This will be the fourth season at the Beach House for Torino. The Westchester, NY native played for the Nor’easters in 2018 and 2019, helping the Storm achieve back-to-back winning seasons. Torino also played a big role in the club’s exhibition games. He scored two goals in a 7-1 win over D.C. United Under-23s (July 13, 2018) and played in the team’s friendly against European power SL Benfica in 2019. He returned to Ocean City last season where he was one of five players on the roster to play in every game of the team’s undefeated regular season, spending most of his time as an outside back.

Torino spent most of his college career at Saint Peter’s University after transferring there from Hartwick College. He scored four goals and dished out two assists over 30 games (23 starts), which included an injury-shortened junior season. He was on the conference’s All-Academic Team three years while at Saint Peter’s.