On Wednesday night, the Ocean City Nor’easters (5-0-2) visited Kildare’s Turf Field in West Chester, PA, in a pivotal matchup against West Chester United SC (7-1-1). The last time these teams met was back on May 23rd, at the Beach House, when the Nor’easters won 2-1. It was the Predators only loss for the season.
Coming into this game, Ocean City trailed the Predators by three points in the mid-Atlantic standings. The Nor’easters are on a fourteen-game unbeaten streak dating back to June of 2019.
Eight minutes into the game, Bakary Bagayoko found Tyler Watson in the middle of the 18-yard line. Then Watson worked the ball toward Theo Quartey before Predators goalkeeper Dane Jacomen made the save.
The Nor’easters attacked the Predators zone but were unable to finish plays. In the 15th minute, Bakary Bagayoko found Simon Becher. Becher took the shot that Jacomen stopped.
In the 19th minute, Ocean City goalkeeper Jahmali Waite punched the ball out of the zone only to have Predators forward Leon Maric intercepted the ball. He took a shot that missed wide left.
In the 30th minute, the Nor’easters defense defended the net off a West Chester corner kick. Then they began to march toward the Predator’s end. Theo Quartey found Simon Becher inside the box, but Becher’s shot was stopped again by Jacomen. Ocean City got off one more shot before halftime. The game was scoreless.
In the 59th minute, Predator’s defender Shane Bradley was issued a second yellow card after knocking down Austin DaSilva. Bradley was ejected from the game, and West Chester were down to ten men, giving Ocean City an advantage.
In the 66th minute, Kyle Galloway got off his second shot of the game, but it went over the goal post. Two minutes later, Simon Becher was taken down by a Predator’s defender resulting in a free-kick. The Nor’easters were unable to score.
With nine minutes left, both teams went back and forth with opportunities; however, neither could find an opening. The game would end in a scoreless draw. It was the second straight game Ocean City finished in a tie. The Nor’easters are now 5-0-3 for the season and extended their unbeaten streak to fifteen games.
Ocean City goalkeeper Jahmali Waite earned his third clean sheet of the season with three saves, and West Chester United SC goalkeeper Dane Jacomen made four saves. Nor’easters forward Simon Becher remains tied in second place with Cyrus Harmon of Kalamazoo FC with seven goals, one goal behind Nicolas Molina of West Virginia United.
Ocean City will return to Carey Stadium next Wednesday, June 23rd, at 7 pm versus the Philadelphia Lone Star FC.
