Preview: Nor'easters host West Chester United for some Monday Night Football
One of the top amateur clubs in Philadelphia area travels down the shore for an exhibition game with Ocean City
On Monday night, the Ocean City Nor'easters will welcome one of the best teams in the region to Carey Stadium for an exhibition game. West Chester United, a club that fields teams in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and the Northeast Soccer League (NESL), will arrive in Ocean City to take on the Nor'easters. United will bring a Under-23 team to take on the Nor'easters' Under-23s for a 3:30 p.m. kick with the main event between the senior teams taking place at 7 p.m.
MORE: Get details on birthday parties, group ticket packages and how soccer coaches get free tickets
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and 13-year-old Olivia Currier will be back to sing the national anthem (Read all about her HERE). All tickets are $10 each and are available at the Carey Stadium box office.
This is second of six straight home games to close out the 2018 season for the Nor'easters. While this game won't count in the standings, it is aimed at helping keep the team sharp as they prepare for this Saturday's massive league game against first-place Reading United AC.
On Saturday night, the Nor'easters won their third straight league game, defeating FA Euro New York, 5-0 at the Beach House. The win improves them to 7-4-0 overall and moves them within three points of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Alex Rose scored a second half hat trick and Fredlin "Fredinho" Mompremier scored his first goal of the season and assisted on two of Rose's goals. Max Hemmings also had a goal and an assist.
One of the heroes from Saturday night's win is a player who calls West Chester, Pa. home. Goalkeeper Todd Morton had six saves to earn his team-leading third shutout of the season.
West Chester United is an amateur club based in West Chester, Pa. They were originally founded as an Over-30 team in 2008 but quickly rose to prominence in the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania, a league that features US Open Cup winning teams like United German Hungarians and Ukrainian Nationals, among other storied teams such as Vereinigung Erzgebirge and Phoenix SC. A majors team was soon created, and now West Chester has an expansive youth program and senior teams that compete in two separate leagues.
West Chester founder Vince D’Ambrosio had big plans for his club.
“The idea was always to enter cups and win as many trophies as possible. That give us a lot of soccer to play, and the trophies attract many high-quality players.”
United won several trophies in the last few years including the club's first-ever berth in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2016 where they advanced to the Second Round. They won the 2015 USASA Werner Fricker Open Cup national title, in addition to their four regional titles at the Open Cup and Under-23 level and several state championships including two United Soccer League of Pennsylvania crowns. Most recently, they won the USASA Region I Amateur Cup tournament.
This is the first of two late-season exhibition games on the schedule for the Nor'easters. On Friday, July 13, they will host the D.C. United Under-23s. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.