Preview: Ocean City Nor'easters continue long-running rivalry with Long Island tonight

Nor'easters, Rough Riders first met back in 2001 and will play each other for the 22nd time tonight

Preview: Ocean City Nor'easters continue long-running rivalry with Long Island tonight

The Ocean City Nor'easters will return to New York for the second time within the first week of the 2019 USL League Two season to take on the Long Island Rough Riders on Wednesday night.

The game will be played at Hofstra Soccer Stadium in Hempstead, NY. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Fans unable to make it to the game, can watch a live online stream HERE.

The Nor'easters are coming off a 1-1 draw on the road against FA Euro New York last weekend. Daniel Twizer (Missouri State / Golan Heights, Israel) scored the lone goal in the 80th minute on an assist from Deri Corfe (Wright State / Chester, England). The Ocean City defense was outstanding as they held FA Euro to just six total shots with the only shot on goal being the one that went in during the 83rd minute that tied the game.

Long Island enters Wednesday's contest with a pair of 2-0 home wins under their belt. They opened the season on May 11 by defeating expansion side Cedar Stars Rush with goals from Manuel Ferriol and Matthew Sloan. Four days later, they defeated Lehigh Valley United with a first half brace from Alexander Dexter.

The Nor'easters and the Rough Riders have been playing each other since the two were professional teams. When they first met in 2001, Long Island was an A-League team (Division 2 pro) and the Nor'easters were a D-3 Pro League (Division 3) team known as the South Jersey Barons. Ocean City is 8-9-4 all-time against the Rough Riders, but the two clubs have met twice in some pretty big games. In the Second Round of the 2005 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Nor'easters (USL League Two) upset the Rough Riders, 4-0 when they were a USL Second Division (pro) team, 4-0. In 2009, Ocean City went on the road and knocked off Long Island in the opening round of the PDL playoffs.

Last year, the Rough Riders and the Nor'easters met after a two-year hiatus. The two teams split the two meetings with the home team winning each game. In Long Island on May 19, 2018, it was a Charlie Ledula goal that proved to be the game-winner for the Rough Riders in the 61st minute. When the two teams met at the Beach House a couple weeks later, the Nor'easters got their revenge with a 2-0 win with goals from Simone Raiola and Alex Rose. Todd Morton, who is currently playing for the Real Monarchs of the USL Championship, earned the shutout and was named to the league's Team of the Week.

Long Island finished third place last year in the very competitive Mid-Atlantic Division with an 9-4-1 record. They fell just three points short of qualifying for the USL League Two playoffs.

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