Ocean City Nor'easters is an American soccer team based in Ocean City, New Jersey. Founded in 1996, the team currently plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
The team plays their home games at Carey Stadium which is located right next to the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. The stadium's nickname "The Beach House" was coined during the 2005 season by the team's play-by-play announcer Josh Hakala. The team's colors are royal blue and orange.
They are among the most successful USL League Two teams since joining the league in 2003 after six seasons in the USISL D-3 Pro League. Since 2003, they have the third-best regular season record and the fourth-best home record in the league. They are also one of the best amateur clubs in the country when it comes to the U.S. Open Cup. As a USL League Two team, they have won 11 games as an amateur team (12 overall) with six of them coming against professional opponents Only two Open Division amateur teams Flint City Bucks with 10 and Des Moines Menace with 7) have more pro team upsets in the tournament's Modern Era (1995–present).
In 2008, the Barons formed a partnership with Reading of the English Football League Championship that has since ended. In 2010, following a split between the PDL team and their youth soccer affiliate, the team re-branded to Ocean City FC, adopted Reading's colors, and a similar badge. The team also adopted a new nickname: the Nor'easters. Since the re-brand the team has won two Eastern Conference championships (2013, 2016)
History
South Jersey Barons, D-3 Pro League (1996–2002)
The club was founded in 1996 as the South Jersey Barons and joined the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues (USISL) as a professional franchise, competing in the USISL D-3 Pro League (now the United Soccer League). In 1998, in only their second year in existence, the Barons won the Mid-Atlantic Division title. The next year, they followed that up with a second straight playoff appearance and a run to the USISL D-3 national championship game. On September 11, 1999, the Barons, playing the title game on the road, lost 2–1 to the Western Mass Pioneers. The Barons made a third straight playoff appearance in 2000, but would struggle for the next three years, never finishing above fourth place in the division.
USL League Two (2003–present) In 2003, the Barons moved to the USL Premier Development League, and after finishing in fourth place in their inaugural season, they made history in their second season in the PDL. In 2004, they became the fifth team in league history to go through the regular season with an unbeaten record (14–0–4). They won the Northeast Division title that year, but their season came to the end in the playoffs. In the conference championship game at McPherson Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina, they lost to the Carolina Dynamo 3–2 on a goal in the 90th minute.
In 2005, the South Jersey Barons were taken over by a local businessman, Giancarlo Granese. The first act as new owner was to move the Barons to Ocean City, New Jersey permanently and rename the team the Ocean City Barons. The club moved into its new home at Carey Stadium on 6th Street and the Boardwalk.
In their first full season at Carey Stadium in the USL League Two, the club won every game in the regular season at home (8–0–0), and finished with a 12–3–1 overall record under the direction of player-coach-general manager Neil Holloway. By the end of the regular season, their home unbeaten streak had reached 22 games, with their last home loss coming back on June 7, 2003, against the Vermont Voltage. The fans came out to see the Barons win that year, as the club finished with the sixth-best home attendance in the USL League Two. They hosted the Eastern Conference playoffs, but were upset in the conference semifinals by the Richmond Kickers Future 4–3 on a goal in the final seconds of regulation by Richmond's Dominic Oduro.
2006 marked the 10th season for the Barons organization, but on the field, despite finishing with a winning record, it was considered a down year by club standards. The Barons finished with a 6–4–6 record, which was good enough for second place in the Northeast Division, and they missed the playoffs for the first time since moving to the PDL. The Barons' home unbeaten streak came to an end on July 16 when they lost 2–1 to the Ottawa Fury. The streak, which still stands as a club record, ended at 28 games. Since 2003, this remained the longest home unbeaten streak until the Des Moines Menace had a 30-game streak that ended in 2023.
In 2007, long-time Ocean City High School head coach Mike Pellegrino took over the coaching duties and returned the Barons to the playoffs. Their 9–3–4 record earned them a second-place finish in the Mid-Atlantic Division. Their home record continued with a 6–1–1 mark and the Barons were selected by the league to host the Eastern Conference playoffs for the second time in three years. The club lost in the conference semifinals to the Cape Cod Crusaders 5–0 after they had two players sent off in the opening 24 minutes of the match.
The 2008 campaign was a tale of two halves as the club suffered its worst season since joining the USL League Two. Despite this, they still had a winning record with 6 wins, 5 losses and 5 draws. In the first half of the season, the Barons were unbeaten, with a record of 4–0–4, but the second half of the season was a different story, finishing with a 2–5–1 record. Some of the highlights included Byron Carmichael becoming the club's all-time leader in goals and points, while finishing the season with an even 100 career points. Ocean City's 8–1 win over the expansion New Jersey Rangers was a historic one as Steve Miller scored the club's third hat trick in franchise history and it was the most goals scored in a game and the largest margin of victory that the club has ever enjoyed as a member of USL League Two.
The Barons bounced back from a disappointing 2008 season with one of the club's greatest campaigns in 2009. In addition to a pair of professional team upsets in the U.S. Open Cup and a date with D.C. United of Major League Soccer, Ocean City had a great regular season and a historic postseason run. After a 9–4–3 record earned them a third-place finish in the competitive Northeast Division and a spot in the postseason, they made history with two playoff wins before advancing to the PDL quarterfinals. The Barons eliminated the Long Island Rough Riders, the second best defensive team in the PDL, 2–0 in the opening round, giving OC their first playoff win since 2004. In the next round, the Men In Red handed the undefeated Ottawa Fury their first loss of the season with a 2–1 overtime win on a 98th-minute goal by Tyler Bellamy. The playoff run came to an end in Des Moines, Iowa, where they lost to the Chicago Fire Premier 3–0.
Rebrand as the Nor'easters
The club rebranded itself after the 2009 season, becoming the Ocean City Nor’easters and adopting the color scheme (royal blue & white) of English club Reading. However, in their first season with their new identity in 2010, the team struggled, finishing with a 5–6–5 record, their first losing season since they joined the PDL in 2003. By and large, the team featured a very young, inexperienced roster and failed to qualify for the post-season and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The season could have been different with a few different bounces of the ball, as four of the six losses suffered were by one goal.
The young players from the Under-20 Men continue to push into the first team, with the likes of Mitch Grotti, Jerry Guzzo and Gio Tacconelli all graduating to the PDL first team in 2011.
The Ocean City Nor’easters began the 2012 season with a change of head coach with Neil Holloway concentrating on his general manager duties and Rutgers-Camden coach Tim Oswald joining the team. The Nor’easters put together a roster that saw them go on a 13–3–0 regular season record which resulted in them winning the Mid-Atlantic Division and qualifying for the 2013 U.S. Open Cup. The Nor’easters recorded one of their biggest attendances of 1,175 for their final home game as the supporters gave their appreciation for the successful season.
The Nor’easters' was arguably their greatest to date. Ocean City finished with an 11–2–1 record (2nd best record in Eastern Conference) and qualified for the playoffs. In the postseason, they won the Eastern Conference championship and advanced to the PDL Semifinals. Earlier in the season, they added to their U.S. Open Cup resume by upsetting the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer League to earn their fifth win over a pro team. In the following round, they nearly knocked off the Philadelphia Union but the Major League Soccer side scored a game-winning goal in second half stoppage time.
After another winning season in 2014 (7–5–2), the Nor'easters lost out on a playoff berth in 2015 on the final day of the campaign. The club got back to their winning ways with a roster that was almost unrecognizable from the previous year. A 9–5–0 record was good enough for second place in the Mid-Atlantic Division and a spot in the PDL playoffs. When they got into the postseason, they made the most of it. They defeated three division champions en route to the PDL Semifinals with wins over the GPS Portland Phoenix, Charlotte Eagles, and their long-time rival Reading United AC in the conference final. They would fall to the Calgary Foothills FC in the PDL Semifinals hosted at Carey Stadium.
In 2017, former Ocean City defender John Thompson took over as head coach as Tim Oswald shifted to a front office role as Sporting Director. Despite finishing with a better regular season record (9–4–1) than the previous year's Eastern Conference championship team, the Nor'easters missed out on the PDL playoffs due to a change in the playoff format. In 2018, the division was even more competitive after adding the Long Island Rough Riders and a second straight nine-win season (9–5–0) wasn't enough to qualify for the postseason, and because the US Soccer Federation reduced the number of Open Division teams that were included in the 2019 tournament, they did not qualify for the U.S. Open Cup.
Prior to the 2019 season, John Thompson announced he was stepping down from the role as head coach. Later that offseason, the club announced that Tim Oswald would return to the sidelines as head coach with Kevin Nuss returning to the club to replace Oswald as Sporting Director. However, a week before the season, Oswald announced that he would be stepping down as head coach due to a medical concern and Kevin Nuss would take over as head coach. The team finished second in the Mid-Atlantic Division.
After the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, play resumed in 2021 under new leadership. Alan McCann, who had won the last two USL-2 Coach of the Year awards while in charge of rival Reading United AC, was hired to lead the Nor'easters in the club's 24th season . McCann led the Nor'easters back to the playoffs but the Storm ultimately fell short, dropping a narrow 1–0 decision to West Chester United in the Eastern Conference semifinals . The Nor'easters finished with a 9–2–3 record, the club's best regular season record since 2013. Ocean City finished in second place in the Mid-Atlantic Division for the second year in a row.