After a two-hour and forty-minute rain delay, the Ocean City Nor’easters (8-0-5, 29 points) hosted the Lehigh Valley United (0-10-2, 2 points) on Sunday night at Carey Stadium in their second to last game of the regular season.
Ocean City came into this game five points ahead of West Chester United SC for first place in the Mid-Atlantic Division. The Nor’easters played on short rest after playing on Friday night against Philadelphia in a 3-1 win which snapped a string of three draws. In addition, they put their 27-game regular season unbeaten streak on the line, of which 12 were at home.
Twenty minutes into the game, Alessandro Arlotti took a shot that deflected off a Lehigh Valley player and went wide of the net for a corner kick. A minute later, Jamie Davis took the corner kick and Jack Sarkos got the ball and kicked it into the net for a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.
In the 40th minute, Sander Roed took a shot after the ball crossed into the middle of the field. The ball deflected off a Lehigh Valley player but Alessandro Arlotti was there for the rebound and shot it into the net for his third goal of the season. The Nor’easters led 2-0. Ocean City led 2-0 at halftime.
In the second half, the Nor’easters had several chances to score but their shots went wide of the goal net. Approaching stoppage time, the officials usually add time past the 90th minute but due to the delay, the official blew the final whistle once the 90th-minute hit.
The Nor’easters defeated Lehigh Valley United by the final score of 2-0. Ocean City sweeps Lehigh Valley United 3-0. They are now 16-2 against Lehigh Valley United. In addition, they are 9-0 against Lehigh Valley United at Carey Stadium. Ocean City goalkeeper Stefano Camerlengo earned a clean sheet.
They extended their regular season unbeaten streak to 28 games, of which 13 happened at home. In addition, they now have an eight-point lead over West Chester United SC for first place in the Mid-Atlantic Division.
Next Sunday is the regular season finale at Carey Stadium as the Nor’easters host West Chester United SC at 7 pm. If the Nor’easters win, they will punch their ticket to the USL League Two playoffs and win the Mid-Atlantic Division. Tickets for all Ocean City home games can be purchased at OceanCityFC.com.
