The Ocean City Nor’easters played one of the most dramatic Lamar Hunt US Open Cup games in club history on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Maryland Bobcats, a professional side from the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) in the Second Round of the 108th edition of the US Open Cup.

WATCH THE GAME HERE (ELEVEN SPORTS)

Ocean City scored a dramatic equalizer in second half stoppage time to force overtime. But then in extra time, the Maryland Bobcats scored on the final kick of the game in stoppage time to advance to the Third Round by the score of 3-2.

With that result, the Nor’easters’ 11th entry in the nation’s oldest cup competition ends. By adding a 3-1 win over West Chester United in Round 1, Ocean City ends with 12 tournament wins as an amateur team (13 overall), which is third-most of all amateur teams in the Modern Era (1995-present).

Now Nor’easters head coach Matt Perrella’s focus shifts to building a roster for the upcoming USL League Two season, which begins May 20 at Real Central New Jersey. This includes hosting the club's final open tryout on Saturday.

Ocean City got off on the right foot at the Maryland Soccerplex on Wednesday night. The last time they played at that facility in Boyds, Md., they faced D.C. United of Major League Soccer in the Third Round of the 2009 US Open Cup. They narrowly lost that game, 2-0. In a credit to his longevity within the game, Ocean City's starting defender Kevin Curran was not only a starter on Wednesday night against the Bobcats but he was also a starter in that D.C. United game 14 years ago. 

In the 22nd minute, Kyle Galloway, who standout at Rutgers University and later led Marist College to the NCAA tournament, created the opening goal. Galloway, who played for the Nor’easters in 2021, chipped the ball just outside the box on the right side to the far post where Kaleb Jackson headed it past the goalkeeper.

It was the first career US Open Cup goal for Jackson, who played his college ball at Rockhurst College before moving on to play professionally.

The Bobcats, who were only playing in their second tournament game in club history, kept the pressure on. A few minutes later, they would hit the crossbar on a shot from distance. 

Around the 40th minute, the Nor’easters would lose their goalscorer when Jackson, who had already received a yellow card earlier in the game, came flying in for a tackle and took out a Maryland player. He was shown a second yellow card and was sent off. Luckily for Ocean City, in what seemed to be a result of the scuffle that took place following the challenge, Maryland’s Richard Forka was also shown a red card, leaving both teams with 10 men.

The Nor’easters would hold on to that 1-0 heading into the second half but the home side would find an equalizer. In the 66th minute, a Maryland player dribbled into the box from the left side and attempted to play a low ball toward goal. Ocean City’s Eduardo Da Silva went to ground to block it and it deflected off of him. The referee ruled that it had hit Da Silva’s hand and pointed to the spot. Darwin Espinal took the penalty kick and sent Brady Hochman the wrong way and tied the game at 1-1 in the 67th minute.

The Bobcats would take the lead late when Abdul Koostra dribbled into the box on the left side in the 83rd minute. He slotted a ball in to Espinal who found room for a shot. The ball took a deflection in front and ended up in the back of the net.

It appeared that the NISA professional side was going to prevail, but two minutes into second half stoppage time the Nor’easters found the equalizer. The Storm took a throw in on the left wing and sent it toward the touch line. Diego Martinez made an acrobatic play to keep the ball in play with a little bicycle kick. The ball fell to Dan Tittlemeyer who played it back to Martinez who had gotten back to his feet and made his way into the penalty area. Tittlemeyer, who was an all-conference player at Arcadia University, (NCAA Div. 3), played the ball across the box to Farid Mancilla who fired a shot on goal. Bobcats goalkeeper Alexander Sutton made the save, but couldn’t control the rebound which fell to the feet of Vilius Labutis who blasted it into the back of the net to send the game into extra time.

Labutis, an Ireland native, came to play for Ocean City from the University of Rio Grande, a NAIA powerhouse in Ohio (former Ocean City player, Deri Corfe, who won the USL League Two MVP,  also played his college ball there). Labutis scored 18 goals and had 7 assists for the Red Storm en route to being named the conference player of the year.    

The Nor’easters played them tough throughout the extra 30 minutes and the match appeared to be heading to a penalty kick shootout. The Bobcats were looking to avoid the uncertainty of the shootout and pushed for the go-ahead goal. An attack from the right wing led to a shot from distance that Hochman made an impressive diving save to his right, but the ball fell out for a corner kick.

Moments earlier, the referee had signaled for a minimum of one minute of stoppage time and as the stadium clock approached that one minute mark, it was clear that the Bobcats’ corner kick was going to be the last kick of the game. The ball was driven into the box and Maryland teenager Phillip Brown crashed in and volleyed the ball into the back of the net from point blank range.

The heartbreaking result was reminiscent of the Nor’easters’ road game against the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer in 2013. After Ocean City had scored a late equalizer in regulation, the game appeared to be headed to extra time but the MLS side scored a controversial goal in stoppage time off a corner kick.