By Zach Rayment

The Ocean City Nor'easters kicked off their 2016 Premier Development League (PDL) campaign with a big 3-0 win on another rainy night.  The storm seems to follow the team wherever they go. There has been poor weather for all three of their games this season including the Blue & Orange Game, the friendly against the D.C. United Under-23's, and now the match against the Baltimore Bohemians.

Hopefully they will leave the rainy weather behind, but the team is happy to take all three points home with them.

The Nor'easters came out firing early on against Baltimore.  It did not take them long to score the first goal of the season.  It was Marcelo Petit (Campbellsville / Asuncion, Paraguay) in the 4th minute getting his head on the ball from a fizzing corner sent in by Miguel Jaime (Florida Gulf Coast / Denver, CO).  The cross was perfectly placed by Jaime and made it easier for Petit to get the club's first goal of the PDL season. The early pressure by the Nor'easters paid off to the highest extent.

"We spent a lot of time in training this week on pressing and working on team formation," Nor'easters head coach Tim Oswald said.  "I thought that time spent clearly benefited us, both last night [in the 3-0 win over D.C. United U23s] and today with two straight shutout results."

They took their 1-0 lead into the second half hoping to build on it.  Only six minutes into the second half, Kyle Thomson (Loyola Chicago / Park Ridge, IL) rifled a shot from outside the 18-yard box and forced a save from Baltimore goalkeeper, Billy Heavner.  Fortunately, he only parried as far as Chevaughn "Chevy" Walsh (Jefferson / Jamaica).  Chevy calmly tapped it into the back of the net to double the Nor'easters' lead.

To finish off the day, Miguel Jaime showed a great piece of skill to receive the ball from Perica Obradovic (Oklahoma Wesleyan / Snederevo, Serbia), get around a defender, switch the ball to his left foot, and then to send a brilliant curling strike into the top left corner.  It was the most impressive goal of the day and sealed a big win in the season opener.  Dating back to last season, the Nor'easters entend their unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1).

Logan Ketterer (Bradley / Racine, WI) played the full match in goal and got his first win and clean sheet of the year.  The Bohemians did not trouble him often. But when they did, he was there to make the save.  He finished the game with two saves.

With the win, the Nor'easters remain perfect against the Bohemians on the road with a record of 5-0-0, while their all-time record against their division rivals improves to 6-2-1. Ocean City also is unbeaten in four of the last five season openers (3-1-1). 

This marked the first shutout the Nor'easters have earned in the season opener since 2012. That year, it was Ocean City's first-ever meeting with the Bohemians and just like on Sunday, the Nor'easters came away with a shutout victory in Baltimore. That year, it was 2-0.

Ocean City Nor'easters starting XI: Ketterer (GK); Fraser Colmer (C), Daniel Nimmo, Cristobal Allendes, Bryce Cregan; Kyle Thomson, Miguel Jaime, Perica Obradovic; Chevaughn Walsh, Marcelo Petit, Nolan Sherwood

Baltimore Bohemians starting XI: Billy Heavner (GK); Timothy Bargar, Nate Lee, Bill Kerr, Marquez Fernandez; Josh Bendar, Tommy McCabe, Malcolm Harris, Mani Walcott, Tyler Gabarra; Jamie Merriam

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The Nor'easters home opener is scheduled for Saturday, June 4 against Reading United. It is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Carey Stadium.

For individual tickets, click HERE. For group tickets, email tickets@oceancityfc.com, or call the ticket office at (609) 736-4849.

For more information on the Ocean City Nor'easters or to "Follow the Storm" on social media, go to www.oceancityfc.com/followthestorm or text "FOLLOWTHESTORM" to 22828 to join the "Storm Watch" e-newsletter.

The Ocean City Nor’easters is a professionally run amateur soccer club with the focus of developing, educating and promoting soccer, health and leadership. Located in Ocean City, New Jersey, “America’s Greatest Family Resort”, the Nor’easters provide quality entertainment to families throughout the Tri-State area and the thousands of visitors every summer.

The Nor’easters organization was established in 1996 and made Carey Stadium, in Ocean City, NJ, its permanent home in 2005. Competing in North America’s top amateur league, the Premier Development League (PDL), the Nor’easters provide the highest level of soccer in Southern New Jersey. The 65-team PDL is the 4th level of soccer in the United States, below the professional leagues; Major League Soccer (MLS), North American Soccer League (NASL) and United Soccer League (USL). As part of the PDL, the Nor’easters’ have the sixth-best overall record since joining the league in 2003 and have upset five professional teams in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, third-most of any amateur team in the country. Ocean City players have the ability to compete during the summer months in a professional environment while maintaining their collegiate eligibility and pursuing their academic goals.