The Ocean City Nor'easters will begin their run in the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Tuesday, March 21 against a familiar foe. The Nor'easters will travel to Pennsylvania to take on West Chester United at YSC Sports in Wayne, Pa. A win will give the Storm a chance to upset a professional team in the next round. The winner will travel south to take on the Maryland Bobcats, a Division 3 professional side from the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) in the Second Round.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Fans unable to make the trip to Wayne, Pa. for the game can watch a live video stream online HERE. Tickets can be purchased online.

This will mark the 11th time in club history that the Nor'easters will take part in the US Open Cup, one of the oldest cup competitions in the world. It will be the second year in a row that Ocean City has qualified.

"The US Open Cup is always an amazing thing to be a part of and it's fitting that we play West Chester in the first round," said Nor'easters head coach Matt Perrella. "We're familiar with each other and have a great respect for that team and look forward to making the match another memorable one. We're working on putting together a competitive roster that will represent us well in hopes that it begins a memorable Open Cup run for the Nor'easters."

Modeled after England's FA Cup, the US Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament that is one of the oldest cup competitions in all of world soccer and has been the national championship for the United States since it launched in 1913. The tournament is open to professional and amateur teams from Major League Soccer to Sunday beer league teams and everything in between.

The 108th edition of the US Open Cup will feature 100 teams, 10 of them from USL League Two (USL-2).

Qualification is based on the Nor'easters' regular season record from last season (11-0-3) as the club finished within the Top 10 of remaining eligible teams.

While West Chester United is a division rival in USL League Two play, this particular team qualified as a member of the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania. It is a year-round team with a strong resume and a long list of accomplishments. The team qualified through the tournament's Open Division Local qualifying tournament. They had to win four games, all of them on the road, to punch their ticket to the US Open Cup.

The Nor'easters are one of the most successful amateur teams in the country when it comes to the US Open Cup. Only two amateur teams in the country (Michigan Bucks and the Des Moines Menace, both of USL-2) have more Open Cup wins (11) and professional team upsets (6) than Ocean City has as a USL-2 team. Of those six wins over professional opposition, five of them were shutouts in front of their home fans at The Beach House.

The first pro upset came in 2005 with a 4-0 win over the Long Island Rough Riders (USL-2). The next two upsets came in 2007 and 2009 against the same team, Crystal Palace Baltimore. They followed up that 2009 win with a second straight stunner, a 1-0 extra time win over the Real Maryland Monarchs (USL Second Division). That earned them a date with D.C. United of Major League Soccer. They traveled to Maryland and lost a close 2-0 decision to the defending Open Cup champions.

In 2013, after shutting out the New York Red Bulls U-23s in Round 1, the Nor'easters claimed their fifth professional victim with a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL), which earned them they advanced to Round 3 again where they had a chance to upset the Philadelphia Union (MLS). In that game, Emmanuel Kollie scored a 90th minute equalizer for Ocean City at PPL Park, but their upset hopes were dashed when the Union scored a controversial game-winner in second half stoppage time.

The club's only one-and-done appearance in the tournament came in 2014 when they fell to New York Greek American Atlas SC, a historic club that has won the tournament four times (1967, 1968, 1969, 1974).

In 2017, the Nor'easters defeated Junior Lone Star FC (Philadelphia Premier League) 3-1 before holding the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL) to a scoreless draw in Round 2. Ocean City were eliminated in penalty kicks, their first PK shootout in club history.

In 2018, the Nor'easters played three straight road games, beating AFC Ann Arbor (then of the NPSL, currently a USL-2 side) 3-0 before traveling to North Carolina to beat the Charlotte Independence (USL) 3-1. It was the club's sixth upset of a pro team. The Open Cup run came to an end with a 4-1 loss to USL side North Carolina FC.

Last year, Ocean City returned to the competition, but narrowly lost in a penalty kick shootout against Lansdowne Yonkers FC, after a 1-1 draw.