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.