Hanover faced a daunting challenge in their season opener at Londonderry, traveling to a site where they had never won, and doing so without a pair of superb senior starters. The Marauders rose to the occasion, breaking out of a scoreless halftime stalemate with second-half goals by Sam Pych and Charlie Adams, and depending on depth and excellent team defense to start the year on a high note, beating the Landers 2-0.
Knowing about the extreme drought in Southern New Hampshire, the Marauders feared the worst in terms of field conditions. They were pleasantly surprised by the lush, green pitch, which validated their week-long preparations on a variety of grassy surfaces. The match was very even in the early going, with Hanover enjoying an edge in the first 15 minutes, and Londonderry responding with some dangerous chances as the half progressed. Starting striker Casey Starr had a good look that was just wide, and Sam Strohbehn and Henry Kahl authored longer looks from outside the box.
Londonderry had the best scoring chance of the half, as center midfielder Jayden West broke loose on the right side and made his way deep into the Hanover box before unleashing a hard shot that forced goalkeeper Pat Logan to make a diving save to his right. It was key moment in the game. The Marauders felt a bit lucky to make it to halftime with a scoreless draw. On the other hand, this was the first time that Hanover had ever kept the Lancers off the board in the first half, and they knew that better soccer lay ahead of them.
The Marauder brain trust, having had a chance to see that many of their midfielders and strikers seemed ready for prime time, made the decision to go deep on the bench in the second half. Before they had a chance to make an moves, though, Sam Pych had given them a 1-0 lead, streaking into the box and ramming home a Henry Kahl corner kick on a play that remarkable reminiscent of his game-winner against Oyster River in last Sunday's scrimmage.
Before long, David Seigne, Griffin Johnson and Sander Macaulay came roaring off the bench and reinforced the territorial advantage that Hanover had already established. Charlie Adams, sitting at center midfield for a briefly ailing Sam Strohbehn, served notice on the Londonderry defense with a long range shot from well outside the box that forced Lander goalkeeper Cam Wheeler to make a leaping save. The subs kept coming. First Dillon Bradley and Elias Zinman gave Adams and Marcus Helble a blow in the center of the park, and then defenders Simon Kahan and Roger Danilek started a rotation that gave every defender a valuable opportunity to recover on the bench on an afternoon with temperatures reaching into the high eighties.
Hanover's fresh legs and their composure at midfield allowed them to stretch the field and dominate possession. The Marauders began piling up a significant shot advantage and threatened repeatedly, particularly through Casey Starr, who barely missed connections several times. With 12 minutes top play, Hanover put the hammer down on a great goal by Charlie Adams, who took a superb feed from Kahl, raced into a dangerous position just inside the box, and finished expertly to give the Marauders a 2-0 lead that must have looked like 20-0.
The Marauders continued to press. Jake Acker, who was tireless in his ball-winning role at sitting midfield, nearly found the range from distance, hitting a left-footer that grazed the bar. Starr, who had a total of six shots in the half, just missed tucking a left-footer inside the far post. Strohbehn, who recovered to give the team critical minutes, dropped another calling card from the edge of the penalty box.
Londonderry never threatened and the final whistle blew with Hanover enjoying a final shot advantage of 17-8 (12-1 in the second half), and a corner kick margin of 9-2 (7-0 in the second half).
The Lancers are a young team, but with Will Smith and Luke Messersmith out of action the Marauders were also vulnerable, at least until they demonstrated that many of their first-year players were ready to be solid contributors. It was a great way for a team still in building mode to show how much progress they had made.
A much stiffer challenge awaits next Tuesday. The Marauders will hop back onto the bus and trek to Exeter, where they face a veteran team eager to avenge last year's 2-0 defeat on the Hanover turf. Wheels go up at 1:30, approximately two minutes after Simon pulls into the parking lot.
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