The Ocean City Nor'easters will attempt to add another professional team upset to its Lamar Hunt US Open Cup resume on Wednesday night. The Storm will travel south to the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, Md. where they will face the Maryland Bobcats of the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA).

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

For those unable to make the trip, there will be a live video stream available. Be sure to check the Nor'easters various social media accounts for a link.

This will mark the 15th time that Ocean City has faced a professional team in this tournament. On six occasions, the Nor'easters won. Only two amateur teams in the Modern Era (1995-present) have more pro team upsets than Ocean City (Flint City Bucks 10, Des Moines Menace 7).

This is the second time that the Nor'easters will play a US Open Cup game at the Maryland Soccerplex. The last time was in the Third Round of the 2009 tournament when Ocean City played against D.C. United of Major League Soccer. That day, the Storm dropped a narrow 2-0 decision to the defending champions. The only goals came on a penalty kick and a late goal when Ocean City was pushing everyone forward for an equalizer.

To reach the Second Round, the Storm went on the road and defeated West Chester United, 3-1 back on March 21. In the opening game of the 108th edition of the tournament, they won on the strength of goals from Andres Latorre, Dylan Evande and a penalty kick from Andre "DeDe" Sabino. The defense held strong, led by six saves from goalkeeper Brady Hochman.

The Bobcats are a relatively new pro team from the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), a 3rd Division league. They started out in the amateur United Premier Soccer League, winning the fall national championship in 2019. They joined NISA in 2021 and missed the playoffs in their first two seasons, but last season they made the playoffs for the first time with a 6-6-3 record, but lost in the national quarterfinals. This is the club's second trip to the US Open Cup. They lost their opening game last year to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the 2022 tournament.

This is the 11th time in club history that the Nor'easters are taking part in the US Open Cup, one of the oldest cup competitions in the world. It will be the second year in a row that Ocean City has qualified.

Modeled after England's FA Cup, the US Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament that is one of the oldest cup competitions in all of world soccer and has been the national championship for the United States since it launched in 1913. The tournament is open to professional and amateur teams from Major League Soccer to Sunday beer league teams and everything in between.

The 108th edition of the US Open Cup, which dates back to 1913, started with 100 teams, 10 of them from USL League Two (USL-2). Four of them still remain in Round 2.

Qualification is based on the Nor'easters' regular season record from last season (11-0-3) as the club finished within the Top 10 of remaining eligible teams.

The Nor'easters are one of the most successful amateur teams in the country when it comes to the US Open Cup. Only two amateur teams in the country (Michigan Bucks and the Des Moines Menace, both of USL-2) have more Open Cup wins (12) than Ocean City has as a USL-2 team. Of those six wins over professional opposition, five of them were shutouts in front of their home fans at The Beach House.

The first pro upset came in 2005 with a 4-0 win over the Long Island Rough Riders (USL-2). The next two upsets came in 2007 and 2009 against the same team, Crystal Palace Baltimore. They followed up that 2009 win with a second straight stunner, a 1-0 extra time win over the Real Maryland Monarchs (USL Second Division). That earned them a date with D.C. United of Major League Soccer. They traveled to Maryland and lost a close 2-0 decision to the defending Open Cup champions.

In 2013, after shutting out the New York Red Bulls U-23s in Round 1, the Nor'easters claimed their fifth professional victim with a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL), which earned them they advanced to Round 3 again where they had a chance to upset the Philadelphia Union (MLS). In that game, Emmanuel Kollie scored a 90th minute equalizer for Ocean City at PPL Park, but their upset hopes were dashed when the Union scored a controversial game-winner in second half stoppage time.

The club's only one-and-done appearance in the tournament came in 2014 when they fell to New York Greek American Atlas SC, a historic club that has won the tournament four times (1967, 1968, 1969, 1974).

In 2017, the Nor'easters defeated Junior Lone Star FC (Philadelphia Premier League) 3-1 before holding the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL) to a scoreless draw in Round 2. Ocean City were eliminated in penalty kicks, their first PK shootout in club history.

In 2018, the Nor'easters played three straight road games, beating AFC Ann Arbor (then of the NPSL, currently a USL-2 side) 3-0 before traveling to North Carolina to beat the Charlotte Independence (USL) 3-1. It was the club's sixth upset of a pro team. The Open Cup run came to an end with a 4-1 loss to USL side North Carolina FC.

Last year, Ocean City returned to the competition, but narrowly lost in a penalty kick shootout against Lansdowne Yonkers FC, after a 1-1 draw.