OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Nor’easters are building a championship soccer team for the 2021 season and are looking for a few more good men.
Due to the popularity of last December’s open tryout, the Nor’easters will host a second tryout on Saturday, Feb. 20 at Carey Stadium (“The Beach House”) in Ocean City.
The tryout will run from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and the cost is $60 to participate.
“We had an exceptional turnout for our tryout in December,” Nor’easters sporting director Tim Oswald said. “Since college matches were cancelled in the fall everywhere, this platform gives us one final opportunity to evaluate all of the talented players in the area as we continue to build a championship roster for the 2021 USL League Two season.”
Players who take part in the tryout will have the opportunity to earn a spot on the 2021 Ocean City Nor’easters USL League Two roster, and there are also roster spots available on the team’s reserve team and multiple Under-23 teams. There will be a clear tiered pathway provided by the club for all players to advance to the first team.
The Nor’easters, one of the top USL League Two soccer clubs in North America, will play in their 24th season as a franchise (18th as a member of USL League Two) in 2021.
Out of the more than 70 teams in North America, the Nor’easters have the sixth-best record in USL League Two since 2003, and the seventh-most wins in the history of the league. The Storm also play at one of the best home venues in the country, Carey Stadium. It is nicknamed “The Beach House” because it’s located right off the boardwalk, next to the beach, and just a couple hundred yards away from the Atlantic Ocean in America’s Greatest Family Resort.
The Nor’easters also perform well in front of their fans, owning the fourth-best home record of any team in the league since 2003.
After the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nor’easters are expecting to challenge for a league title in 2021 with some of the top players from the region and around the country. A strong performance in the 2021 league season could also lead to a berth in the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a national tournament where Ocean City has upset six professional teams in club history.
The Nor’easters not only have a strong tradition of team accomplishments, but also with individual players. Since 2003, more than 90 Ocean City players have moved on to play the game professionally in more than 20 countries from around the world . There have been 26 players drafted by Major League Soccer teams, including at least one in each of the last six years, including 2019 USL League Two MVP Deri Corfe . Corfe became the third Nor’easters player to team history to win the league’s MVP award. Ocean City is one of only two teams in league history to have three MVP winners .
Go online to oceancityfc.com for a link to sign up for the tryouts.