Preview: Nor'easters travel north to take on Lehigh Valley United on Wednesday night
Ocean City looks to remain undefeated and has won last four meetings with United
The Ocean City Nor'easters will look to continue their undefeated start to the 2019 USL League Two season when they head to Allentown, PA to take on Lehigh Valley United on Wednesday night (May 29).
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Nor'easters have won the last four meetings against United and are looking to keep pace with first-place Reading United, who they trail by five points, but with a game in hand.
As of now, there is no live stream available for the match. Fans wanting to follow the action are encouraged to visit the Ocean City Nor'easters Twitter account (@OCNoreasters).
The Nor'easters started the 2019 season on the road as they earned a 1-1 draw against FA Euro back on May 18, followed by a hard-fought 3-1 win over long-time rival Long Island Rough Riders.
The Storm have been led by last year's team MVP Deri Corfe (Wright State / Chester, England), who scored a pair of goals against Long Island, including a surefire Goal of the Week nominee. Along with his assist on the team's lone goal against FA Euro, he has a team-leading five points (2 goals, 1 assist) and is currently riding a five-game point streak, dating back to last season.
Defensively, Jan Hoffelner (St. John's / Frankfurt, Germany) has been solid in front of a talented backline as the only two goals allowed have been a penalty kick and a goal that was created after a controversial no-call. Hoffelner, last year's NPSL Goalkeeper of the Year, also saved a penalty kick against Long Island.
Lehigh Valley had a rough start to the 2019 campaign with two of the toughest teams in the league on their schedule. United hosted league-leaders Reading United back on May 11 and lost 5-2 before dropping a 2-0 decision on the road against the Long Island Rough Riders.
LVU did manage their first win of the season last Saturday when they picked up a 2-1 road win over Evergreen FC. Last year, their lone win of the season came, just like this year, in the third game of the season, on the road, against Evergreen FC. Alexander Greene and Steven Bednarsky both scored for United in the win.
Lehigh Valley United had a really challenging first two years in the PDL. United won just a single game in 2015 and upped that total to three in 2016. They won four games in 2017, but the club took a step back last year, winning just one game (1-12-1) as they participate in one of the toughest divisions in the league. The club joined USL League Two after five years in the National Premier Soccer League where they won the league championship in 2012 and made the playoffs in four of the five seasons, including two appearances in the national final four.
Last year, the Nor'easters swept all three games that they played against United (2 road, 1 home) to improve their all-time record against Lehigh Valley to 8-1-0.