The Ocean City Nor’easters scored three unanswered goals and held on in the game’s final minutes to beat West Chester United 3-1 in the opening game of the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Tuesday night at YSC Sports in Wayne, Pa. For the Nor’easters, it was the club’s 12th Open Cup win as an amateur side (13th overall), the third-most in the Modern Era (1995-present) behind Flint City Bucks (15) and the Des Moines Menace (13).
As the lone matchup on the opening day of the 2023 tournament, both teams played a spirited back and forth game that saw quality chances from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. Dylan Evande’s 60th minute header put the visitors up 2-1, and Andre Sabino’s penalty kick seven minutes later proved enough as the Nor’easters withstood a furious onslaught from the two-time Amateur Cup champions that forced multiple clearances off the line and a few remarkable saves by Brady Hochman to see out the game.
With the win, Ocean City will travel south to face the Maryland Bobcats (NISA) in the Second Round at the Maryland Sportsplex. The last time Ocean City played at that venue was in the 2009 US Open Cup when they narrowly lost to D.C. United on two late goals. The Storm are now 5-4-0 all-time in USOC road games and 13-8-2 overall.
Ocean City and West Chester came out of firing on the fast turf, trading a number of flying tackles and quick transitions. West Chester nearly jumped on the scoresheet in the second minute on a free kick from Kyle Tucker just outside the box, but Hochman made a sprawling top hand save to deny the hosts.
We ❤️ you, @opencup.@OCNoreasters BANGER ????????????pic.twitter.com/9HsboWDLDz
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) March 22, 2023
After several surges of possession from both sides, Ocean City’s striker Piero Sabroso appeared to have the opener in the 11th minute when he cut through the West Chester defense and slotted the ball past Cameron Sanders. But the Peruvian was whistled for a foul, and on the ensuing restart, West Chester scored the game’s first goal. Luca Mellor played a long ball from deep within his own half that beat the Ocean City backline. Finn Reese, a former Ocean City player, chased down the ball just ahead of Hochman, dribbling around the keeper and tucked it into the empty net for a 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later, Ocean City equalized on a stunner from Andres Lattore, which should be a candidate for goal of the round. Kevin Curran whipped in a free kick that bounced around the box several times before the ball popped out into the path of Lattore, who unleashed a cracker from the top of the box that hit the back of the net before Sanders had a chance to react.
Tied at 1-1, Ocean City began to carry more of the play, and in the 27th minute Sabroso had another chance denied by the West Chester keeper. Two more chances late in the half, one from Sabino in the 34th minute, and another from Vilius Labutis in the 45th, missed the frame by inches and sent the teams into the break tied at one goal apiece.
Minutes into the second half, Sabroso nearly broke the deadlock, but his long range strike was denied by the post. Ocean City found the go-ahead goal in the 60th minute when Curran’s in-swinging free kick just inside the right corner met Evande at the six. Evande outjumped numerous players and headed the cross into the net for the 2-1 lead.
Ocean City picked up a third in the 67th minute after a scramble at the top of the box led to Sabino’s shot being blocked by Mellor’s hand inside the box. Referee Joshua Encarnacion pointed to the spot, and Sabino converted the ensuing penalty to extend the lead to 3-1.
Both teams made several changes to maintain the intensity, and as West Chester pushed the game’s momentum, Ocean City stayed compact and composed, stopping multiple chances late to preserve the win and advance.
Andre Sabino makes it 3 for @OCNoreasters (and does a little dance????too)
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) March 22, 2023
1-3 | #USOC2022
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“I’m super pumped,” an emotional first-year Ocean City coach Matt Perrella said after the game. “They’ve trained together for four days, so finding the right players to come in who have the heart and will to win was massive.” With the USL League Two season months away, Ocean City found a way to pull together a roster that could compete immediately in the tournament, and although they may have needed some time to gel, the visiting coach was proud of the way his players performed, even as a slight underdog coming into the game.
Perrella, who was an assistant with Ocean City for two seasons before getting promoted to head coach just a few months ago, was complimentary of his goalkeeper.
“Brady Hochman,” he said, “what a stud, what an amazing game he had.” Perrella, himself a former Rider University goalkeeper and the Nor’easters backup netminder on the night, was impressed with Hochman’s early save on Tucker’s free kick.
“It’s more difficult if you go 25 minutes without making a save and then you’re called to action, so I think that save prepped him for 90 minutes.”
This was the fourth straight win for Ocean City against West Chester. The Nor’easters swept all three meeting in USL League Two play last season, but this United side qualified as a member of the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania. The two rivals will meet three more times in league play this summer.
Ocean City’s striker Sabroso, who helped Bethel University (Ind.) win an NAIA national championship this past season, enjoyed his first experience in the Open Cup and the way his teammates came together in a short time.
“I’m used to two months of preseason then the season,” he said after the game, “and making an improvised trip, meeting players from around the world, and training just four days and win this match and play as brothers felt nice.”
Defender Osman Barrie, who is from New Jersey and previously played for Lone Star FC, also enjoyed his first Open Cup match.
“Coach prepared us well for this,” he said. “He told us this is not going to be a 1-1 kind of game. There’s going to be goals, and it’s going to be a 90-minute game.”
The defender asserted his presence throughout the game and reflected on how well his team defended at the end. “We knew as soon as we got that goal, we gotta stay on the defensive and stay switched on, and I think we did that for the most part.”
“It’s a tough night if you don’t finish goals,” West Chester coach Blaise Santangelo said after the game. “I think we could have gone up 3-1, and in less than 5-10 minutes, we’re down 3-1.”
West Chester had the advantage of being the more cohesive side, fresh after securing an EPSA Cup double in recent weeks with wins over United German Hungarians in both state finals.
“We’re not going to win this tournament,” he said, “and now we go on to the next tournament. It was a great night of soccer.”
West Chester has advanced in the tournament twice by penalty kicks, but ended the night still seeking the club’s first official win in the competition.
Last year, West Chester was bounced 1-0 in a First-Round replay by FC Motown. The amateur side will continue regional play in both the USASA Amateur Cup and the Werner Fricker Open Cup, the latter of which the Predators will seek to defend their 2022 national title.
For Ocean City, they will return to the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, Md. for Round 2 against the Maryland Bobcats. The Nor’easters have upset six professional teams, the third-most of any amateur team in the Modern Era. A seventh would tie Des Moines for second-most since 1995.
