 |
| Ocean City FC 2010 Opening Day roster |
| * returning from last year |
| Goalkeepers |
|
|
| 26 |
John Fogarty* |
Villanova |
Marmora, NJ |
| 13 |
Bret Mollon |
Temple |
Washington, MI |
| 1 |
Tunde Ogunbiyi* |
Boston College |
Gwynedd, PA |
| Defenders |
| 17 |
Kevin Curran* |
Loyola College (Md.) |
Upper Twp, NJ |
| 14 |
Jimmy Davis* |
LaSalle (’09) |
Pittsgrove, NJ |
| 8 |
John Fletcher* |
Eckerd College (’08) |
Uxbridge, England |
| 2 |
Matt Griffin |
Robert Morris |
Bethel Park, PA |
| 3 |
Dan Korenyi* |
LaSalle |
Cinneminson, NJ |
| 19 |
Jake McPaul |
St. Joseph’s |
Sewell, NJ |
| 24 |
Sal Pistone* |
Stockton College |
Blackwood, NJ |
| 5 |
Kevin Strunk |
Lehigh |
Downingtown, PA |
| Midfielders |
| 11 |
Dan Braun |
Robert Morris |
Pittsburgh, PA |
| 20 |
Giancarlo Granese* |
Hofstra |
Ocean City, NJ |
| 4 |
Max Hamilton |
Monmouth |
Medford, NJ |
| 15 |
Austin Johnson* |
LaSalle |
Middle Twp, NJ |
| 21 |
Matt MacWilliams |
Temple |
Lansdale, PA |
| 12 |
Neal Melchionni* |
Lehigh |
Marmora, NJ |
| 23 |
Ryan Richter* |
LaSalle |
Southampton, PA |
| 7 |
William Swetra* |
James Madison (’10) |
Egg Harbor, NJ |
| 22 |
Alex Weidman |
Monmouth |
Linwood, NJ |
| Forwards |
| 16 |
Byron Carmichael* |
Marshall (’03) |
Lumberton, NJ |
| 18 |
Junior Chapman* |
LaSalle |
Winslow, NJ |
| 6 |
Dwayne Dove* |
Vermont |
Turnersville, NJ |
| 10 |
Terry Gibbs |
Bloomfield College |
London, England |
| 9 |
Kyle Miller* |
Holy Cross |
Woodbury, NJ |
| Coaches |
|
|
| HC |
Neil Holloway |
Wheeling Jesuit (’02) |
Reading, England |
| AST |
Dan Ortiz |
|
Galloway, NJ |
| AST |
Leon Brown |
Wheeling Jesuit (’04) |
Siparia, Trinidad |
As the 2010 Premier Development League season begins, Ocean City FC will begin the year with a tremendous amount of changes. The majority of those changes were made off the field, so as the club’s 14th season begins, the success that they are known for on the field is not expected to change.
This past off-season the club underwent a complete makeover. Due to a falling out with the South Jersey Barons youth academy, the club decided to drop the nickname ‘Barons’ and start fresh. They became simply “Ocean City Football Club” and changed their nickname to the Nor’easters. Also, due to their partnership with English Championship side Reading FC, Ocean City adopted the club’s royal blue and white colors and will wear the same jerseys.
The 2010 season will kick off on Saturday, May 15 when the Nor’easters host the Hampton Roads Piranhas at Carey Stadium. The game will start at 7 p.m. as the club will try to extend their impressive record in home openers. The Nor’easters have never lost a home opener since moving to Ocean City in 2005 (2-0-3) and haven’t dropped a home debut since 2003. It will be a difficult task because Ocean City has played Hampton Roads three times in their history, and lost all three games. The match also doubles as a qualifying match for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, a tournament that Ocean City has qualified for in four of the last six years, something no other PDL team has ever done.
Tickets can be purchased at the Carey Stadium gate: $6 for adults, $4 for kids. Season tickets are also available. For eight regular season games, packages are $40 for adults, $20 for kids. To order, fill out our season ticket order form or call the Ocean City FC office at 609-525-9999.
The Nor’easters begin the season hoping to improve on some impressive all-time records as well. The club enters the season with the second-best home record (39-9-11) among the 67 PDL teams across North America, since they joined the league in 2003. They also have the fourth-best overall record (67-25-24) in the PDL during that span.
There are high expectations on the boardwalk this summer as 16 players will return from last year’s roster including three of the top four scorers and last year’s All-Conference goalkeeper.
General manager Neil Holloway will return to the sidelines to manage the Nor’easters for the second year in a row and he is optimistic about the team’s chances this year.
“Repeating last year’s achievements will be tough, but every year you have to build a new team in the PDL,” said Holloway. “We have a young team once again, but I’m confident with the core of players returning, we’ll develop the same chemistry and have another successful season.”
GOALKEEPERS
The anchor of the Ocean City backline will once again be Tunde Ogunbiyi (Boston College / Gwynedd, PA). Last year, Ogunbiyi became the first goalkeeper since 2005 (Ryan Carr) to be named to the PDL All-Conference team. He set a franchise record with eight shutouts in all competitions (5 regular season, 2 US Open Cup, 1 playoffs) and was among the league leaders in goals against average with 1.33. Ogunbiyi, who trained with the Nigerian Olympic team prior to the 2008 Olympic Games, will be a senior at Boston College this Fall.
Battling for the starting job will be Bret Mollon (Temple / Washington , MI), who joins the club for his first season on the boardwalk. Mollon was the only goalkeeper named to the Philadelphia Soccer Six All-Star team last year, while earning a 1.04 GAA with six shutouts over 18 games. He also brings some PDL experience with him, as he played for the Michigan Bucks (one of the elite teams in the league) during their 2006 championship season.
John Fogarty (Villanova / Marmora, NJ) will also return for his third season. The Ocean City High School graduate has only played in two games over the last two seasons while backing up Ogunibiyi, but both of those games were both shutouts.
DEFENDERS
The position on the field which experienced the most turnover might be the Ocean City defense. Last year, the defense set a club record by only allowing 14 goals in 16 regular season games. Jamal Neptune, Leon Brown, Tyler Bellamy, and Joe Banks are not on the roster this year. Neptune moved on after graduating college, Brown is focusing on coaching Super Y-League teams, Bellamy is playing professionally for the Rochester Rhinos of the USSF 2nd Division and Joe Banks decided to hang up his boots after six great seasons with the club.
Jimmy Davis (LaSalle / Pittsgrove, NJ) is expected to return for his 4th season at the Beach House, but is recovering from an ACL injury and may not be able to return to the lineup for a few weeks. Davis has been one of the most consistent players for backline, and will be a vital member of the roster because of his ability to play any position on the field.
John Fletcher (Eckerd College / Uxbridge, England) will be the team’s captain for 2010 and will return for his third season.
Kevin Curran (Loyola College / Ocean View, NJ) will try to rebound after his rookie season last year was cut short due to injury. Fresh out of Ocean City High School, Curran earned a starting job last season and played five games, including making the starting 11 against DC United in the US Open Cup. After he got hurt, he recovered in time to play every game for Loyola College (Md.) in the fall and helped the school qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Two returning players will add some size to the backline as Dan Korenyi (LaSalle / Cinneminson, NJ) and Sal Pistone (Stockton College / Blackwood, NJ). Korenyi (6’4, 212 lbs.) and Pistone (6’5, 220 lbs.) are both are coming off solid sophomore seasons at their respective colleges.
The new faces on defense include Matthew Griffin (Robert Morris / Bethel Park, PA), Jake McPaul (St. Joseph’s / Sewell, NJ), and Kevin Strunk (Lehigh / Downingtown, PA). Strunk joins Ocean City after playing for the Reading Rage (now Reading United) last year, while McPaul was a long-time Barons youth academy player and Griffin, from the Pittsburgh area, played in 17 games in his sophomore year at Robert Morris.
MIDFIELDERS
A solid core of midfield players return for 2010, with the biggest absence being J.T. Noone (Temple / Harrisburg, PA) who graduated and is now playing professionally with the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) and training with the Philadelphia Union (MLS).
William Swetra (James Madison / Egg Harbor, NJ) led the team in assists last year with 7 in all competitions, while Neal Melchionni (Lehigh / Marmora, NJ) played a big role in the midfield last year playing in 14 games. Ocean City High School graduate Giancarlo Granese (Hofstra / Ocean City, NJ), son of Ocean City FC president, John Granese, will attempt to build on his first PDL season last year when he played in just three games.
Another offensive force returning is Ryan Richter (LaSalle / Southampton, PA), who was the team’s second leading scorer last year with six goals and three assists. Richter had a big junior year at LaSalle as he was named the Philadelphia Soccer Six Player of the Year after leading the Explorers in scoring with seven goals and seven assists. Richter’s teammate Austin Johnson (LaSalle / Middle Township, NJ) will be back for his second season in Ocean City. Johnson had a solid freshman year at LaSalle, scoring three goals in his debut season with the Explorers.
Dan Braun (Robert Morris / Pittsburgh, PA), Matt MacWilliams (Temple / Lansdale, PA), and college teammates Max Hamilton (Monmouth / Medford, NJ), and Alex Weidman (Monmouth / Linwood, NJ) will add depth to the midfield. Braun played 17 games in his sophomore season, while MacWilliams is the son of long-time Temple head coach Dave MacWilliams. The addition of MacWilliams, along with goalkeeper Bret Mollon, continues an Ocean City FC streak of having a Temple University player on the roster every year since the team joined the PDL in 2003.
FORWARDS
Led by Ocean City’s all-time leading scorer, Byron Carmichael (Marshall / Lumberton, NJ), who is returning for his seventh PDL season, the Nor’easters offense expects to be strong again in 2010. Last year’s 31 team goals was the second highest total since moving to Ocean City, and this year, the team returns 22 of those goals. Kyle Miller (Holy Cross / Woodbury, NJ) is back after leading his college team in scoring for the third year in a row. Miller scored three goals last year in his first season with Ocean City FC.
Glenroy “Junior” Chapman (LaSalle / Ocean City, NJ) scored a goal in his first season in the PDL last year, playing in 12 games. He used that experience to have a strong freshman season at LaSalle where he was second on the team in scoring and was named to the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie team.
Dwayne Dove (Vermont / Turnersville, NJ) joined the Nor’easters very late in the season and played in two games. The only new addition at the forward position is Terry Gibbs (Bloomfield College / London, England), who joined Bloomfield College from London, England. Gibbs made an immediate impact by scoring five goals in 14 games, finishing second on the team in scoring.
"Our goal this year is to get into the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and to make the PDL playoffs," said Carmichael. "We had a terrific run last year and we’re looking for new players to step right in and help the team continue its winning ways. I expect a lot of excitement from the team and the town, especially with the new team name and colors that we will be wearing."
