The Ocean City Nor'easters have brought a combination of international and local talent to the team's midfield for the 2024 USL League Two season.

This year's group features players from seven different countries, including three from the Garden State, one from Pennsylvania and another from Ohio. Out of the 11 players, three of them are returning to the Beach House after playing in previous seasons.

2024 Ocean City Nor'easters Player Profiles

2024 Nor’easters Defenders 2024 Nor’easters Forwards  2024 Nor'easters Goalkeepers

You can find all of the 2024 midfielders listed below (in alphabetical order):

Julian Anderson (San Diego State / Ocean Twp., NJ)

The Nor’easters are thrilled to welcome New Jersey native Julian (Jules) Anderson back to the Garden State to play at the Beach House this summer. The midfielder from Ocean Township played for the YSC Academy, the Philadelphia Union Academy and for Rangers FC’s Under-18 team in Scotland. By the time he was ready for college, he was ranked the 61st best prospect in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer. He landed at the University of VIrginia where he was a regular contributor and starter for two seasons with the Cavaliers.

In 2022, he traveled to the west coast where he enrolled at San Diego State. Last year, he was tied for second on the team in assists with five and scored a goal.   

Kaelan Debbage (Spring Arbor / Queensland, Australia)

Kaelan Debbage is an attack minded midfielder with both collegiate and USL2 experience. Originally from Queensland, Australia Debbage is currently a rising senior at Spring Arbor University (NAIA). The Aussie began his collegiate career stateside at Kansas City Kansas CC in 2021. He was named to the Community College All-Region and All-Conference team following a 9g/5a freshman season. Following his early success, he transferred to Drury University where he scored eight goals and added three assists for the Panthers. Debbage was awarded with NCAA Division 2 All-Midwest Region First Team honors. 

He also logged 5 appearances for Reading United and scored his first goal in USL2 during the 2022 season. He will now add his talents to the Ocean City Nor’easters for the upcoming 2024 season.

Maruki Kawahara (Nebraska-Omaha / Tochigi, Japan)

Kawahara has been one of the most well-traveled players on the Nor'easters' roster. A native of Tochigi, Japan, he began his college career at Iowa Western Community College. He led Reivers to the NJCAA championship game in 2020, and then Iowa Western took the next step and won the national title in 2021. He transferred to the University of Akron where his versatility was on full display for a program that is always in contention for a national title. He played six different positions for the Zips, including both backs, both wings, and Nos. 6 and 8. He was also selected as one of the Keystone Conference's best eleven players as an attacking player in the 2022 summer league. He transferred to the University of Nebraska - Omaha where he finished his college career by starting 13 of the 16 games he played in, while adding two assists and helping the Mavericks to a record-breaking season. They won the Summit League Tournament for the first time since 2017 and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. They would suffer a narrow 1-0 loss to Missouri State in the first round.

In Kawahara’s first season with Ocean City last summer, he was one of the most reliable players in the midfield. He started 10 of the 12 games he played in, including starting all three playoff games.

Diego Palma (Indiana Wesleyan - Santiago, Chile)

Another international addition to the Nor’easters will be Diego Palma. The center midfielder hails from Santiago, Chile. He is currently a rising third year player at Indiana Wesleyan (NAIA). In the 2023 season, he proved his stability for the Wildcats by logging nearly 1,500 minutes across 18 games including 17 starts while assisting on three goals. The Wildcats finished with a 13-4-4 record and earned a win in the first round of the NAIA tournament before falling in the Round of 16.

Palma began his collegiate career with Indian Hills Community College (Iowa) where he was recognized for his ability. Palma played in 15 games, with 14 starts, adding one assist. He won the 2022 National Junior College Athletic Association Region XI Championship and was named to the 2022 NJCAA All-Region Honorable Mention team. Palma is expected to add defense and creativity to the midfield unit.

Nicolas Rubio (Seton Hall / Egg Harbor Township, NJ)

The Nor’easters are excited to welcome a local product to Ocean City in Nicolas Rubio. Nico comes to the Beach House from Seton Hall where he is hoping to bounce back from an injury-shortened 2023 season. He played just six games for the Pirates last season after redshirting his freshman year.

The Egg Harbor Township native entered Seton Hall after an accomplished youth soccer career. His early days were played at Real Jersey FC where he won a US Youth Soccer National League national championship. before switching to the Philadelphia Union Academy. Through two seasons of Varsity Boys Soccer at EHT he totaled 15 goals and 16 assists before his commitment to elite club prevented him from continuing on varsity. Rubio will look to contribute with his creative and attacking skill set for the Nor’easters in 2024.

Marco Silva (Marshall / Coopersburg, PA)

Marco Silva comes to Ocean City after a breakout first season with national power Marshall University. The Coopersburg, Pa. native (near Allentown) redshirted the 2022 season and was tied for 3rd on the team in goals (7) to go along with five assists, which was good for 4th on the team in points (19). He started 11 of the 17 games he played in for the Thundering Herd, who finished with an 18-3 record (most wins in program history) and won the school’s second Sun Belt Conference tournament title. In the NCAA tournament, they were a No. 1 seed and won their opening match before falling to No 16-seeded Stanford.

Before enrolling at Marshall, Silva played at the YSC Academy, Emmaus High School, and South Kent School, where he won a national championship. He also played for the Philadelphia Union Academy. 

Theo Silva (Univ. of Rio Grande - Sao Paulo, Brazil)

Theo Silva is a midfielder out of São Paulo, Brazil. He currently plays for NAIA powerhouse University of Rio Grande (Ohio). In his first year with the team, the sophomore was an important piece for the Red Storm, starting 11 of 12 games. He scored his first collegiate goal against Indiana East and assisted against Ohio Christian, both in River State conference play in the NAIA. Rio Grande would finish with a 14-2-3 record Silva will look to add his expertise in the center of the park to Ocean City.

Nolan Spicer (Notre Dame / Bay Village, OH)

The Ocean City Nor’easters will be able to rely on a dynamic threat in midfield for the 2024 season. Nolan Spicer is a rising sophomore at Notre Dame, where he was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman team following a successful 2023 season. Spicer made 20 appearances, drawing 6 starts, including against Oregon State in Notre Dame’s College Cup semi-final victory. The Fighting Irish finished with a 13-3-6 record, going undefeated in conference play (6-0-2). Spicer finished his freshman season with four assists and added one goal. 

Spicer has a history of goalscoring and creativity. In high school he won back-to-back state titles with Saint Ignatius in Cleveland. After a 23g/9a season he was named the 2021 Ohio Boys Soccer Gatorade Player of the Year. He finished his HS career with an impressive 66 goals and 31 assists. Spicer is an exciting addition to the Nor’easters roster for the upcoming season.

Colin Veltri (Elon / Mays Landing, NJ)

South Jersey native Colin Veltri comes from a strong soccer family, his brothers Matthew and Justin both played college soccer at Rider University and Matthew went on to play professionally in Spain after graduating. Colin was a standout player at Oakcrest High School where he played multiple sports. He got the attention of scouts after his junior season when he scored 12 goals and had 20 assists (ranked second in the state). After playing for multiple ODP teams, winning a US Youth Soccer national championship at the Under-17 level and racking up plenty of awards, he enrolled at St. John’s University. He played in 10 games (started three) for the Red Storm in his freshman campaign in 2022. Then, last season, he increased to 13 games (four starts) along with two assists. Veltri has a new home now. He enrolled this spring at Elon University and will play there in the fall.

Last summer with Ocean City, Veltri was named the team’s Breakthrough Player of the Year. As the season progressed, so did Veltri’s playing time. He ended up with nine regular season games played, including starting three of the last four. By the time the playoffs rolled around Veltri was one of the team’s key players, starting and playing every minute of the first and third games and coming off the bench on a short turnaround in game two. Veltri’s long lone assist on the season came on June 27 when he sparked a late comeback on the road against West Chester United where they overcame a two-goal deficit and extended the team’s record unbeaten streak with a 2-2 draw. His performance in the second half the season earned Veltri the Nor’easters’ Breakthrough Player of the Year award.

Arthur Widiez (Florida Atlantic - Èze, France)

The Nor’easters lone Frenchman comes to Ocean City from Florida Atlantic. After starting his college career at Oakland University (Metro Detroit), he spent two seasons with the Golden Grizzlies, before transferring to Florida Atlantic (Boca Raton, Fla.). In 2022, he made an instant impact for the Owls, starting all but one game and was third on the team in minutes played with 1,107. Last season, he scored his first career goal in the American Athletic Conference tournament and was named to the AAC All-Tournament team. He played in 17 games (starting 14) and finished with one goal and assist.

Prior to coming to the United States, he played for AS Monaco’s youth academy for seven years where he had the opportunity to play against some of the biggest clubs in the world, like Paris Saint-Germain and PSV Eindhoven.