Preview by George Diamond

Following the completion of Tuesday’s Play-In rounds, the stage is set for the 2024 USL-League Two playoffs to commence. The Ocean City Nor’easters (9-3-0) will face off with the Seacoast United Phantoms (14-1-0) in game #2 of Friday's doubleheader at Carey Stadium.

The Nor'easters are offering two options for fans of both teams attending in person:

A Weekend Pass may be purchased for $20, which grants access to all 3 games over the weekend.

Alternatively, the standard General Admission single game tickets are also available for $10. 

Both options can be found here: 2024 Playoff Tickets

Fans unable to attend in person will be able to watch the action as the Nor’easters continue to partner with BFA Sports Media who will provide a live broadcast of all 3 weekend games via YouTube and Sports Engine play.

The livestream links for the Round of 32 matches can be found here: 

Game #1: Long Island vs Vermont Green

Game #2: Ocean City vs Seacoast United 

There will be an alternative link which is hosted on Sports Engine here: SportsEnginePlay

With Carey Stadium- the Beach House- being chosen as a Regional Site for the opening rounds of the USL-2 playoffs, there will be 3 total playoff matches hosted down the shore at America’s Greatest Family Resort.  Game #1 of the Round of 32 will feature the Long Island Rough Riders (9-1-2), versus Vermont Green FC (9-2-2). The Rough Riders qualified as winners of the Metropolitan Division whereas Vermont Green FC beat Reading United in Tuesday’s play-in game with a score of 1-0. This match will be held at 4:30 p.m. and will be immediately followed by game #2. 

The second matchup in the Round of 32 will feature two division winners in Seacoast United and Ocean City. The Phantoms and the Storm were the last two perfect teams in the regular season, each suffering their first losses within two days of each other. The Phantoms lost 4-2 to AC Connecticut on June 26th and the Nor’easters lost 1-0 to West Chester United on June 28th. 

Seacoast has had a year to remember as they won every game, save that loss against Connecticut, on the way to a 3rd consecutive Northeast division title. The Phantoms netted 40 goals along the way, only conceding 10. Taig Healy, a rising junior at the University of New Hampshire, is the standout player for United with 19 total goal contributions(11g/8a). Bear in mind that the Phantoms played 14 games in a larger division, whereas the Storm only had 12 games on their schedule. 

Meanwhile, the Nor’easters were no slouches in the Mid-Atlantic. They also locked up their 3rd straight division title, scoring 30 goals while only allowing 9. Only 4 teams in the playoffs have allowed fewer goals. The Storm will be looking to win their first home playoff game since the 2013 PDL Eastern Conference Final when OCN came out as 3-1 winners over Ottawa Fury. 

In fact, that was the last time a USL-2 playoff game was held at Carey Stadium. Ocean City hosted the 2016 PDL Semis, but it was at Tennessee Avenue Soccer Complex, which is down the block from the Beach House. In both the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, OC traveled for all of their postseason fixtures. Friday’s matchup is a great chance for the Nor’easters to claim their first home postseason win in 11 years.

The Nor’easters season has been defined by contributions from every member of the team. The team has had 12 different goalscorers over the course of the season. Two defenders top the statistical categories in Goals and Assists. Agustin Resch (Seton Hall/Arata, Argentina) has scored a team leading 6 goals from Center Back while adding 1 assist. He has shown a knack for scoring headers but is also capable of finding the back of the net with his feet, even scoring direct from a free kick. Fullback Kaelan Debbage (Spring Arbor/Queensland, Australia) has contributed 6 assists and is a threat from his corner kicks and long throws.

Head Coach Matt Perrella has utilized a platoon system at goalkeeper, splitting time between Marc Bonnaire (WVU/Warrenton,VA) and Nathanael Sallah (Nebraska-Omaha/Hamburg,Germany). Both have acquitted themselves well in their time. Bonnaire has kept 3 shutouts and holds a .85 GAA across 7 appearances (5 wins). Sallah has kept 2 shutouts while holding a .6 GAA over 5 games (4 wins). Whoever is in between the sticks on Friday would be justified in drawing the start.

The aforementioned Resch and Debbage as well as Colin Veltri (Elon/Mays Landing,NJ), Arthur Widiez (Florida Atlantic Univ./Ézé, France), and Theo Da Silva (Rider/São Paulo, Brazil) have played in every game this season so far and will look to continue that streak against Seacoast United. 

Forward Hale Lombard (Lafayette/Belleair Bluffs, FL) will be looking to open his Nor’easters account after having a goal called back last week due to offside. 

In advance of Friday’s matchup with Seacoast United, Head Coach Matt Perrella said this, “It's a great opponent, a very tough matchup, a team that has consistently been top of their division so we're expecting a really good game. I expect the result to come down to details and small margins. This point in the season we need to be ready to fight for 90+ minutes and battle for every ball. We feel we have the players and capability to win the game so we're going to get after it and do our best.”

Fans should make sure to follow Nor’easters social media accounts on Twitter/X and Instagram to get live updates on game days.