The Ocean City Nor’easters (1-0-0) hit the road for the first time this season when they travel north to take on Real Central New Jersey (1-1-0) on Wednesday night. The game will take place at Ben Cohen Field located at Rider University in Lawrence Township, N.J. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

For fans unable to make it to the game, Real Central NJ will have a live stream available through the digital streaming platform Sports Engine. The live stream link can be found HERE.  There will also be live updates provided on the Nor'easters' X (Twitter) account (@OCNoreasters).

The two-time defending Mid-Atlantic Division champions enter Wednesday’s clash after a 4-1 season opening win on Saturday over Philadelphia Lone Star FC. Alberto Cruz (Memphis/Madrid, Spain) and Nolan Spicer (Notre Dame/Bay Village, OH) scored first half goals while Arthur Widiez (Florida Atlantic/Eze, France) and Andrew Kitch (North Carolina/Medford, NJ) added a goal each in the second half to lead a balanced offensive attack.

Marc Bonnaire (West Virginia/Warrenton, VA) was solid in goal and nearly had a clean sheet, but the lone Philadelphia goal came late in the game from the penalty spot.

The Nor’easters enter Wednesday’s game riding a club record 21-game regular season road unbeaten streak which dates back to the 2019 season (COVID-19 canceled the 2020 season). Their last road loss came against Reading United AC on June 15, 2019.

The match will be a 9th all-time meeting between Real Central New Jersey and Ocean City in a series that began in 2021. The Nor’easters lead the series 5-0-3. The last four meetings have each been decided by a single goal or have finished in a draw (2-0-2).

Last year, Sander Roed scored the lone goal in the Storm’s season opening win at RCNJ on May 20. On June 14, the Nor’easters returned to Rider University and the match finished in a rare scoreless draw (just the 16th regular season scoreless draw in Ocean City’s team history). On June 30, the two teams played at the Beach House with Jamie Davis scoring a first half goal and RCNJ stunned Ocean City fans with an equalizer in the 87th minute.

In the club’s third season, RCNJ finished 4-5-5 last year but the record did not reflect how competitive they were. All five of their losses were by a single goal. It was an up and down season. They lost their first three games, before going four games unbeaten (2-0-2) before dropping back-to-back one-goal games. RCNJ finished the campaign strong, going unbeaten in their last five matches (2-0-3). 

This year, they bounced back from a 4-0 road loss to the Philadelphia Lone Star FC on May 18 with a 1-0 home win on May 22. Matthew Lynch scored the game-winning goal in the 13th minute and RCNJ’s defense held strong for the shutout win despite playing a man down after Cole Sotack received a second yellow card in the 81st minute.

Former Ocean City goalkeeper Lukas Burns (2022) has been in goal for both of RCNJ’s games.