Byron Carmichael scored his team-leading fifth goal in the first half and Kyle Miller scored the game-winner in the 84th minute on an assist from Giancarlo Granese to spoil the Dynamo’s first-ever trip to the Beach House.

Carolina Dynamo (5-5-4) 1:2  Ocean City FC (5-5-5)

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The Ocean City Nor’easters got back to their winning ways on Saturday night with a 2-1 win over the Carolina Dynamo at Carey Stadium.

Byron Carmichael scored his team-leading fifth goal in the 13th minute only to have the Dynamo answer with an equalizer in the 34th minute. Kyle Miller scored the game-winner in the 84th minute on an assist to spoil the Dynamo’s first-ever trip to the Beach House.

The win improves the Nor’easters’ record to 5-5-5 and leap frogs them over Carolina into fourth place in the Mid-Atlantic Division.

"We played very well," said head coach Neil Holloway. "Played with a lot of passion and spirit and took the game to Carolina from the get go. I also changed up the lineup a little and started both [Super-20 players] Gio [Giovanni Tacconelli] and MJ Nestor, and moved [central defender] John Fletcher to midfield."

The Nor’easters came out with a goal of entertaining the crowd and they controlled the early part of the game. Tacconelli and Nestor (making his first career PDL start) played a very ’mature’ game according to Holloway.

The opening goal came in the 13th minute when defender Kevin Curran sent in a cross from the left wing and after a failed clearance by the Dynamo backline, Carmichael pounced on the ball and volleyed it past the keeper to make it 1-0.

The assist was the first career point by Curran and the 57th career goal for Carmichael.

Carolina tied to the game up after a giveaway by the Ocean City defense. Tanner Wolfe stole the ball, cut in from the right and fired a shot past goalkeeper Tunde Ogunbiyi from the edge of the penalty area.
 
As a feeling of "oh no, not again" set in with the home team, they survived the momentum swing and nearly regained the lead before the halftime break. Fletcher hit a free kick from about 25 yards out and nearly beat the keeper but Alex Long dove to his right and got a fingertip on it to preserve the 1-1 tie.

"Apart from the giveaway that lead to the goal, it was the best half we’ve played all season," said Holloway.

Ocean City controlled the play in the second half and the defense held strong, only allowing one shot in the second 45 minutes.

After having a ball cleared off the line minutes earlier, the Nor’easters finally took the lead back thanks to a pair of second half substitutes. Giancarlo Granese, who has played in all but one game this year for his hometown team, swung in a cross from the right wing and found the head of Kyle Miller for his third goal of the season.

The Nor’easters just had to hold on, something they have failed to do in the previous two all-time meetings. In 2004 playoffs, the Dynamo scored the game-winner in second half stoppage time and on June 19 of this year, a 66th minute goal made it a 2-2 game.

In the final minute of the game, the game nearly got out of hand when Carolina defender Fejiro Okiomah threw a punch at Ocean City’s Junior Chapman and was sent off. After some pushing and shoving, order was restored and the Nor’easters finished off the game with a man advantage.

Since Ocean City joined the PDL in 2003, the club has never had fewer wins than losses. In the club’s entire 14-year history, they have only had less than six wins in a season once, and that was during their inaugural season in 1997.

The Nor’easters will try to keep that streak alive when they host the West Virginia Chaos next Saturday at the Beach House. The kickoff for the season finale is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets are available online and at the Carey Stadium entrance gate.