The Ocean City Nor'easters completed a season sweep over Lehigh Valley United on Saturday night with a 3-1 win at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. The first place Nor'easters remain unbeaten with a 5-0-1 record and maintain their three point lead over second place West Chester United in the Mid-Atlantic Division. 

Nor'easters forward Alessandro Arlotti (Harvard / San Remo, Italy) extended his point streak to six games with a goal and an assist, while Galen Flynn (Fordham / West Hartford, CT) and Daniel Diaz-Bonilla (Princeton / Vienna, VA) each scored their first goals of the season. Goalkeeper Felix Schafer (Santa Clara / Berlin, Germany) made eight saves to earn his fourth straight win.

"We once again showed great spirit to get another three points on the road," said Nor'easters head coach Kevin Nuss. "Credit to Lehigh for a very good performance. Their goalkeeper came up huge for them a couple times."

The victory was historic for Ocean City as it extended their road unbeaten streak to 10 games, which ties a club record set back in 2005. The current streak began during the 2019 campaign, and continued through the 2021 season when the team enjoyed just the third unbeaten season on the road with a 5-0-1 record. This season, they began the team's 25th campaign on the road with a 1-1 draw with Real Central New Jersey (May 21) and a 2-0 win at Reading United AC on June 4.

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The Nor'easters have a chance to set a new club record in their next game on June 17, but it won't be easy. On Friday, June 17, Ocean City will make a second trip to take on long-time rival Reading United.

The Nor'easters opened the scoring on Saturday night in the 31st minute with Daniel Diaz-Bonilla scoring his first goal of the season. The Princeton Tiger received a through ball from pass from Rodrigo Robles (James Madison / Miranda de Ebro, Spain), then the Princeton Tiger cut inside and launched a shot that took a deflection and ended up in the back of the net, beyond the reach of Lehigh Valley goalkeeper Blake Koski.

The Nor'easters took that 1-0 lead into the halftime break but the hosts managed to find an equalizer early in the second half.

Perry Kingston, who was a dangerous player for Lehigh Valley in Wednesday's match at Carey Stadium, tied the game up in the 63rd minute. After a ball was played toward the center of the defense, it was laid off to Kingston who beat Schafer in goal to level the match at 1-1.

The Nor'easters had an answer shortly after as Galen Flynn gave the visitors the lead back eight minutes later. Alessandro Arlotti played a one-two with Flynn on the left side of the offensive third. This sent Flynn in one-on-one with the goalkeeper and he hit the ball one-time and beat Koski to the far post to pick up his first goal of the season.


After extending his point streak by assisting on Flynn's goal, Arlotti scorerd one of his own to give the Storm a two-goal cushion in the 77th minute. Nicolas Cam Orellana (Keiser Univ. / Santiago, Chile), who scored a pair of goals to give Ocean City the win on Wednesday, entered the match in the 62nd minute and made an impact just 15 minutes later. Cam Orellana played a one-two with Arlotti at the top of the box. Arlotti faked a shot to his right just outside the box, and when the defender went down to block it, he brought it back to his left and fired a shot with his left just inside the far post to make it 3-1.

It was Arlotti's fourth goal of the season, which ties him with the man who provided the assist for the team lead. With Arlotti's two assists, that gives him 10 total points (4 goals, 2 assists) to give him the team lead.

The Nor'easters defense held strong for the final 13 minutes to preserve the victory. Part of that defensive backline was Roman Holt (San Antonio FC / San Antonio, TX) who made his Nor'easters debut by starting and playing the full 90 minutes. The 17-year-old product of the youth academy of USL Championship side San Antonio FC is playing with the Nor'easters this summer to get more playing time and experience, while the senior team is currently tied for the best record in the league.

"It felt great to contribute to the group and pick up a tough three points on the road," said Holt. "We’re happy with this week's results and we're looking forward to the weekend ahead."

Despite being just a teenager, Holt has received some meaningful playing time with the San Antonio FC senior team. He came in off the bench and helped close the game out in San Antonio's upset of MLS side Austin FC in the Third Round of the 2022 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Next week, he is being recalled to play for SAFC in the club's friendly against LigaMX side Athletic Club San Luis on Tuesday, but is planning to return to Ocean City the following day.

Saturday's win also marked another streak for Kevin Nuss as he extends his personal coaching streak with the Nor'easters. On June 21, 2019, a scoreless draw with the New York Red Bulls Under-23s began a seven-game unbeaten streak to close out the 2019 regular season. Now, back in charge of the club for 2022, the current six-game unbeaten streak brings his personal coaching streak to 13 games without a loss.