Ocean City’s playoff woes continue in thrilling defeat to Hudson Valley

After finishing second in the USL League Two Mid-Atlantic Division after three consecutive regular season titles, Ocean City faced Hudson Valley Hammers on Tuesday night, with a spot in the nationwide playoff bracket on the line.

The Storm looked to overturn its horrific playoff record in recent years, but fell short to a gritty Hudson Valley side. An impressive crowd filed into Carey Stadium to watch the affair, and the opening ten minutes were well worth the price of admission. Just 70 seconds into the match, Theo Faillon was the recipient of an awful challenge, leaving the center referee no choice but to point to the spot. Rafael Kawata, coming off a hat-trick in the weekend’s 7-2 thrashing of Delaware FC, stepped up and slotted home the spot kick to give the hosts the lead.

Hudson Valley, owned by USMNT star Tyler Adams, instantly fought back, and just a couple of minutes after the opener, Kyle Evans unleashed a stunning 30-yard strike into the top corner to equalize. The Hammers wouldn’t stop there, however, and just 18 seconds after the restart, Nicolas Zielonka found himself through on goal and fired the visitors ahead. The opening ten minutes rounded out with a hard challenge that saw Hudson Valley’s Vincent Akanbo enter the referee’s book and incite a screaming match between the benches.

The following half hour finally allowed the two sides to settle into the game, with each goalkeeper being forced into action a single time. Right on the stroke of halftime, Hudson Valley picked up the pressure, but failed to break through a third time. After the break, the chaos of the opening minutes returned, as an errant backpass from Colin Veltri led Hudson Valley through on goal, and the ensuing chaos led to a Theo Da Silva handball and penalty. Zielonka stepped up looking for a brace on the evening, but Matisse Hébert made an excellent stop to keep the game within reach.

The story of the second half was Ocean City’s half-chances that just couldn’t find a way in, and a corner cleared off the line by Hudson Valley was the cherry on top for the hosts. Both Veltri and Faillon found themselves with chances to equalize late but failed to convert. As the clock crept towards 90, Vincent Akanbo unleashed a stunning strike into the top corner to seal the win for the visitors.

Ocean City had a plethora of chances, but their inability to make any sort of tactical adjustments after going down a goal defeated any chance they had of advancing. In the end, it’s yet another successful regular season capped off with a disappointing home playoff loss for the Nor’Easters, who saw their campaign end on Tuesday.