Freshmen Beat Winacunnet 4-0

The freshmen game against Winacunnet Wednesday afternoon came as a surprise to many, as a mix up had some believing, for good reasons, that this match was scheduled for Thursday. But, two teams, two officials, and a program adjustment to accommodate the other Hanover squad’s practices, all resulted in the opening whistle going off at 4:00.

To calm the waters, after Coach Johnson’s inspirational traditional pre game haiku, the boys trotted out to the pitch and delivered another good effort,  a never-in-doubt win, 4 – 0.

The first half showed how well this team of freshmen can defend and move the ball in the attack. We peppered their fine goalie, Hayden Mador, with a barrage of shots that were either just off the mark or saved by their keeper.  Early on, Peter Burnham began the game of his life with a angled shot from the far left wing that just glanced off wide, opening the gates for multiple Hanover shots on goal, both from close range and from distance, with Peter’s fine shot followed by tries from the undeniable force that is Eli Stack, a blazing Pat Osborn close range attempt under pressure, and many more attempts from a variety of offensive sources. Especially noteworthy was a Clay Kynor try as he moved up from the back line that was just knocked away at the goal.

Despite the offensive display, and because of the stingy, skilled defensive play from midfield to the backs, the score at half was knotted at zeros. The tone had been set though, and it seemed destined that we would erupt in the second 40 minutes.

And we did. Stack fought through some traffic to bang goal number one, while the play of Hanover’s strong and cagey backs turned away any thought of Winacunnet getting things even. Ethan Ross, who is improving every game, along with Judd Alexander, Carl Gemunden, Brendan Brigham, Kynor, Tristan, the smooth Noah Pikelny, and Andrew Chen, along with strong midfield support, held up the shutout for Carter Auch, who met the few shots on goal with agile, aware saves.

Then came more. Eli Bush laid in a well-placed corner kick, which Nolan Gantrish expertly headed into the strings, and this match was unofficially over. We were displaying the collective speed and grit that defines this group, as Winacunnet, with much less depth on their bench, was sucking air.

Peter Burnham topped off his strong day by launching, towards the end of the last 40 minutes, a shot from the far left side that banged onto the top bar, clocked the goalie hard in the nose, and squirted in for the third score of the game. David Stoffel’s goal in the last few minutes finished of the scoring for the final score, Hanover 4, Winacunnet 0.

This was another in a string of wins for the freshmen that are complete team efforts. Everyone contributes, communication is strong, and every player played well and hard again. Way to go, boys! This club is worth coming to watch, even if you son is part of a different team.

Satisfaction emanated from the players and coaches, as we all are watching a group that is hitting their stride. Next up is Bishop Guertin this Saturday at home on the HHS turf, starting at 11a.m. Come and join the party!

Surprise! Freshmen Tame Winnacunnet 4-0

Demonstrating commendable flexibility  and adaptability, the Freshman team tamed Winnacunnet High School 4-0 in a match that surprised everyone on the home side.  Switched from the week ahead, the match was scheduled for today, but Coach Grabill erroneously listed it as a Thursday game on the weekly schedule and blog.  Imagine his surprise today as he greeted the freshmen, all geared up for practice, and then greeted the Winacunnet bus.  A quick exchange of phone calls and it was clear that today was the day.  Fortunately, the freshmen had arrived early, started warming up on their own, and were mostly clad in their spiffy practice jerseys.  A few mouth guards were magically produced, and the game went on as scheduled.  You can see the full report of the match in this space tomorrow, but it was an excellent performance for the Marauders.  They nearly scored half a dozen times in a scoreless first half, and then calmly created some excellent goals to win going away.  Peter Burnham's goal was a memorable one!

Also demonstrating flexibility were the other three Hanover teams, who crammed onto the second field at Dresden, all 85 of them, and had productive practices.

The Reserves will host Oliverian tomorrow, and all three other teams will have plenty of room to train!

Young Reserves Tame Ravine of Despair, Fall Mountain 2-0

In the spirit of SAT words this week, I will try to use some aptly to make my summaries pellucid and satisfactory.  

   The sun was bright, but fall had definitely arrived as we made our way onto the Fall Mountain pitch.   The warm up was relatively uneventful, except for the ravine of despair where overshot balls disappear.  There was a net there, but it had been lowered due to a porcupine's untimely demise in it earlier. We did lose a ball in the ravine, but a new and different ball was found searching for the first one.  

    Once again the young guys faced a slightly larger group in Fall Mountain's JV.  Hanover got on the board early though.  Joe Brennan made a pass to Andrew Enelow who dribbled in from the baseline and his attempted cross managed to create a goal.

   The second goal looked was an attractive one.  Theo Sparks won the ball in midfield and placed a pass to Joe Brennan.  Joe then calmly and sagaciously presented a thru ball to Andrew Enelow who one touched into the back of the net.  Both those goals were scored in the first 10 minutes.  Hanover continued to press, but no goals were forthcoming in the half.  

   There were no goals in the second half, but it was not lacking in highlights.   The emergence of the Deutsch duo of Moritz Klinke and Vinzent Moesch  had some great 1-2 combinations and properly executed back heel passes that left a couple of hapless midfielders wondering where the ball went. A near goal happened as well as Moritz dribbled his was through three players and made a perfectly paced cross to Andrew who struck it on frame, but also into the waiting arms of the keeper.  

  I would be remiss if I didn't mention Lucas Brock was a linchpin in midfield winning the ball and allowing his attacking midfielders and forwards to really get in the game.  The defense and goalkeeping of Eric Seltzer was once again rock solid and a foil to any serious threat on net.

The Old Reserves host Oliverian at Dresden on Thursday at 4:30, and the Young Reserves take to the highway on Saturday for a rematch with Sunapee an Noon.  Bus departs at 10:00 sharp.

Marauders Embark on Charity Fundraising Opportunities

It has been a tradition of Hanover Soccer for a number of years to spend time in working for local, national and international charity efforts.  This week, we have launched a pair of efforts for two charitable organizations that are very important to us.

The Marauder Varsity has been selected by Grassroot Soccer to host a Grassroot Charity Game, with the goal of raising $5,000 between now and their October 13 game with Dover.  Their efforts will be enabled by the fact that Positive Tracks has offered to match every donation!  A number of players have already opened their internet team pages, and we have already raised $475 in just one day!  We are grateful for the support we have received.  To learn more (or for players to register!)  here in the link to the Crowdrise web page:

https://www.crowdrise.com/hanover-high-school-soccer-charity-game

In the meantime, the Junior Varsity, Freshman and Reserve teams have been invited to participate in the annual Lebanon CROP Hunger Walk, raising money to fight hunger both locally and around the world.  Hanover players have done this for the past ten years, and contributed significantly to this community-wide effort.  Players collect pledges and donations (and are doing this increasingly on-line), and the event culminates with the Walk on Sunday, October 9th in downtown Lebanon.  Registration for the Walk begins at 12:30 in Colburn Park, and the 5K Walk begins at 1:00, winding through Lebanon neighborhoods and on the rail trail, and ending up back at Colburn Park.  Walkers then gather at the Congregational Church for hot food, cider and cookies.  There are several ways to participate.  Players who cannot attend the Walk can still collect donations.  They can also walk, even with a minimal donation.  Ideally, they can do both!  This has always been a wonderful bonding event for players on all of the teams.  Here is the link to the site, for either donations or registration:

https://www.crophungerwalk.org/lebanonnh

Of course, participation in these events is completely voluntary.  Our players are busy, and many participate in community service in other ways.  But these events have been carefully vetted, and provide the opportunity to "give back".  Please feel free to contact Coach Grabill with any questions.

Friday Game Locations Changed For Varsity and JV

The locations have been changed (and upgraded) for the Varsity and Junior Varsity games at Bishop Guertin this Friday at 4:00.  The Varsity game will be played on the new turf field at Presentation of Mary Academy in Hudson.  The street address is: 182 Lowell Road, Hudson, NH 03051.

The JV game will be played at BG High School instead of at Mines Falls Park  (whew!).  The address is: 194 Lund Road, Nashua.

The busses will depart after 5th period on Friday.  The JV will practice on the HHS grass field from 3:30 - 5:00 on Thursday.  The Varsity will practice on the HHS turf from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.  All four teams will train from 3:30 - 5:00 at Dresden on Wednesday.

Reserves: Mentors Named; Game at Fall Mountain

We're trying something a little new this year with the Reserve team.  Since we have a nearly equal number of seniors (14) and freshmen (12), we wanted to make official what has happened informally in the past, and assign seniors to mentor the freshmen.  We'll see what happens next.  We'll certainly encourage the pairings to get together when warmups require a duo.  We may find some opportunities for public service work.  Stay tuned, and we'll report this back to you.

Here are the mentor assignments:

Gabe Loud/Henry Bernard

Avery Wallis/Alex Roth

Harry Olszewski and Dimitri Somoff/Eric Seltzer

Sam Lutz/Theo Sparks

Daniel Wilson/Joseph Brennan

Tenzing Rumrill and Aidan Connolly/Tage Colberg

Charles Chen/Andrew Enelow

Liam Abbate/Christopher Lee

Hayden Hatfield/James Roth

Daniel Felde/Alec McDevitt

Wilson Rimberg/Jackson Ray

Joe Zhang/Aidan Ristino

The Reserve Young Guys will head south tomorrow to play Fall Mountain at 4:30.  Dismissal time is after 6th period.  We're still looking for some help with snacks for the bus.  Please e-mail me.

Remember that there is a new addition to the Reserve schedule: The Old Guys will host Oliverian School on Thursday at 4:30 at Dresden.

Game and Practice Schedule, Sept. 26 - October 2

Monday, September 26

                                               

Practice Bus Departs for Dresden                                                                   3:45 p.m.

All Teams Training at Dresden                                                                       4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday, September 27

Practice Bus Departs for Dresden                                                                   3:45 p.m.

Freshman, JV and Varsity Training at Dresden                                               4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Reserve Game  at Fall Mountain – Bus Departs 1:30                                      4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, September 28

Makeup concussion screening for all teams                                                   2:10 p.m.
Practice Bus Departs for Dresden                                                                   2:45 p.m.

All Teams Training at Dresden                                                                       3:30 – 5:00 p.m.

Freshman Game vs. Winacunnet - Dresden                                                    4:30 p.m.

Thursday, September 29

Practice Bus Departs for Dresden                                                                   3:45 p.m.

Reserve Game vs. Oliverian School - Dresden                                               4:30 p.m.
Freshman Training - Dresden                                                                           4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

JV Training at HHS Grass                                                                               3:15 - 5:00 p.m.

Varsity Training – HHS Turf                                                                           6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Friday, September 30

Varsity and JV Games at Bishop Guertin -  Bus Departs 1:00 pm.                 4:00  p.m.

Practice Bus Departs for Dresden                                                                    3:45 p.m

Freshman and Reserve Training - Dresden                                                      4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Saturday,  October 1

Freshman Game vs. Bishop Guertin - HHS Turf                                             11:00 a.m.

Reserve Game at Sunapee – Bus Departs 10:00 a.m.                                      12:00 Noon

Sunday, October 2

Varsity Training at HHS Turf                                                                          3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Reserves Win Twice in 24 Hours, Beating Lebanon and Souhegan

It was a great weekend for the rejuvenated Reserves, with two wins in less than two days. On Friday, the Young Guys beat Lebanon in a thrilling 1-0 contest, and Saturday afternoon on the HHS turf, the Old Guys edged a good Souhegan team 2-1.

On Friday, we pulled into the Lebanon fields for our first away game.  It felt like a true first day of fall with the cool air and gray clouds overhead.  There was  plenty of warm up time for the team to get going.  This day was a tribute to the whole team and especially the defense.  It was a day of simple hard work. The Lebanon team was bigger, strong, skilled, and fast.  Hanover though held on in the first of many onslaughts with a back four made of veterans and new guys with Avery Wallis, Dan Wilson, Deveon Martin, Max Lutz, AJ Ristino, Matt Alibozek,  Tage Colberg, and Caleb Calloway.  They tracked flanking wingers, won tackles, ran down attackers, stepped through fifty-balls, made clearing headers and also started to make smart and dangerous passes to the wings and forwards.

 

The Man of the Match would have to be goalkeeper Eric Seltzer.  He truly kept Hanover in the game with solid positioning, steady hands, diving saves and fearless charges off the line.  This would of been enough if weren't the penalty kick.   Due to the constant charges of Lebanon's front line a penalty eventually happened in the box partway through the second half, and we thought the 0-0 tie  was over.  Eric guessed correctly, though, and dove to his left,  meeting the ball in its trajectory, and creating a melee outside the goal which we managed to clear.   

   

The first half we started on our heels, but managed to slowly get back in the game. Hanover started putting pressure on goal and creating real chances in the later part of the first half with Henry Bernard and Andrew Enelow up front.    In the second half the back and forth continued, and finally we managed to get some real chances on net.  A forward pass from the back managed to go right past our forwards and their defenders alike. Sam Lutz and Matthew Alibozek had ambitious takes that bounced off the crossbar and post respectively. The break through came in the form of an assist from Sam Lutz to Andrew Enelow, who in classic fashion weaved toward the front past defenders and slipped the ball past the goalie.  Hanover managed to hang on for the remaining time and left with the  win. If you looked at a stat sheet you would think Lebanon would have won the match.  What decided this game was the defense, teamwork and the goalie that allowed Hanover to stay in the game almost as if they were taking cues from Iceland in the Euros.

On Saturday, the weather had changed considerably from the day before and the sun was out as Hanover stepped on the turf.  Souhegan was skilled and well-coached.  It was not a team we could take lightly. Hanover soon started pressuring down the sidelines started to create some real danger with Gabe Loud, Tenzing Rumrill, and Ian Surat-Mosher.  This eventually yielded results when Ian collected a ball and gave Tenzing an assist down toward the right side of the goal.  Tenzing stayed with ball and once within the eighteen placed a low shot with enough pace so the keeper couldn't hold onto the ball.

  

The game continued and Hanover seemed to have the upper hand.  Souhegan made some real threats, with some shots that just went wide of the goal.  The second goal was created by Gabe Loud,  who continued his run of goals from unconventional angles and distances.  This was a truly a heads up play.  The goalie for Souhegan was playing very far off the line, and Gabe noticed he was once again off his line when won a fifty-fifty ball near midfield.  He looked up, simply thought "why not?", and lobbed a ball from around 45 yards out as we watched the ball go over the goalie and bounce into the back of the net.  

The second half told a different story.  Souhegan came out firing on all cylinders and caught the crew a little flat. It sometimes happens in soccer when balls and passes don't bounce your way you simply have to grind it out, and that's what Hanover did this half.  There was one breakdown where Souhegan managed to get behind the Hanover defenses and put one in.  Hanover didn't fold, even though they may have felt the week catching up with them. They stuck in there and even created a few more chances on goal.  This game also showed some growing strength in their defensive skill with some solid stops by Azor Goodwin and Liam Abbate as well.  Andrew Enelow once again played a very solid game in goal allowing only a point from an open shot taken within 10 yards of the net.

The Reserves play three games this week.  The Young Guys travel to Fall Mountain on Tuesday.  A new addition to the schedule has the Old Guys hosting the Oliverian School on Thursday at Dresden at 4:30.  The Young Guys end the week with a road trip to Sunapee on Saturday.

Freshmen Play a Thrilling 1-1 draw with Merrimack

Saturday morning, for the second consecutive game, the freshmen boys faced very good opposition.  It came this day in the form of the Merrimack Tomahawks, a big, fast, disciplined group that played on Hanover's big turf field like they’d seen it before. This was a great game - crisp and well played by both squads, ending appropriately in a 1 -1 tie.

Most of the first half was played between the penalty areas, where good midfield distribution from sharp passes kept the pace brisk, but shots on goal were infrequent due to great defensive efforts at both ends.

Then, boom!  A fine pass from their center mid landed the foot of a streaking left-winger who buried the shot high inside the right post, just over the fingertips of leaping Marauder keeper Carter Auch.

As the half wore down, Hanover's own stellar center midfielder, Latham Allison, smoked a bounding ball from outside the box which strained the strings of the net, followed by a team eruption on the field and a raucous cheer from the fans at what turned out to be the last goal of the game.

The first half play was mirrored in the final 40 minutes. Hanover's back line, led by the calm resolve of Judd Alexander, fabulous long clearings from Ethan Ross, frequent stops of Tomahawk runs from Noah Pikelny, and overall strong work from Carl Gemunden, led the way. Substitutions, as always, were continuous, and Tristan Meyer, Jordan Gottleib, and speedsters Brendan Brigham and Nick Kim, along with Carter’s six fine saves, kept Merrimack from finding the net again.

Nolan Ganatrish, Pat Osborn, the two Eli’s (Bush and Stack) were strong up top,  and center midfielders Will Blinkhorn and Allison directed traffic in the middle, typical of the the overall team hustle, which kept the game pace blistering.

A breakaway, game winning potential goal, on the capable foot of Joey Perras, was nipped in the bud by an off sides call, and that was a last real chance for the win.  That, along with a couple of low post ringers that were oh-so-close, kept things exciting throughout, as did the sight of Toño Correra and Gray Messersmith winning balls that had hope written all over them, all for naught.

This group of 9^th graders is developing a team culture of grit and relentless effort that is a pleasure to be around. If you haven’t seen them play yet, do yourself a favor and stop by for one soon.

The next two games are both at home, this Thursday,  4:30 against Winnacunnet  at Dresden, and back on the HHS turf next Saturday, Oct. 1 at 11:00 versus Bishop Guertin.