With their roots in August and their eyes on November, the Marauders bade farewell to summer on a scorching Tuesday on the Merriman-Branch turf, dismissing a capable Nashua South team 4-0. Hanover systematically improved on their 1-0 halftime lead with three second-half goals, and kept the Panthers off the board with a stingy defense backed by goalkeeper Patrick Logan.
Casey Starr and Charlie Adams led the attack, collecting three goals between them, and combining on one of them for a nifty give-and-go. So far, sharing the same position seems to be working well for them. Although Nashua South had allowed only five goals in their first six games, the Marauders had no trouble nearly doubling that total, and they left quite a few more on the table.
The match started slowly, with Hanover maintaining possession for five minutes, but unable to penetrate Nashua South's packed defense, which had allowed only five matches in six games. Soon, excellent play on the flanks by Henry Kahl created two good chances, including a near miss by Casey Starr. Luke Messersmith also looked effective, but Hanover's goal came after the first wave of subs entered the match. That meant that Charlie Adams and David Seigne had the chance to go to work, and for the second time this season they created a great goal. Will Smith started the play, sending a pass up the flank to Seigne at midfield. Seigne turned and exactly as he had done at Winacunnet, sent a ball into the left corner for a speeding Adams. Charlie did the rest, outpacing a defender and hitting a shot inside the right post for a 1-0 lead. It was Adams' second game-wining goal of the year.
Hanover had several other chances to pad the lead. Will Smith got into the box on a corner kick and put a flick header over the bar. Adams also connected on a header that didn't miss by much, and Seigne knocked wide-open shot over the crossbar. Nashua South had far fewer chances, but on one occasion striker Logan McIntosh got loose in the right corner and rolled a shot past the far post that missed the upright by inches.
Hanover hoped to roar out of the starting blocks after halftime, but it was Nashua South that created the first chance, and it was a good one. Midfielder Josh Reeder got loose at the far post for a header that was headed for the lower corner before Pal Logan slid across and made an excellent save to keep the Panthers off the board.
With that bullet dodged, Hanover went to work, and once again it was a striker off the bench that got the job done. Casey Starr cooled his heels for the first ten minutes of the half, and then doubled the score with a nice piece of individual work, winning a ball deep in the Nashua South penalty area, holding off a defender, and hitting a hard shot that was stopped by Panther defender Roe Hendrick, but still had enough juice on it to elude his grasp and trickle over the line.
Nashua South had one more chance to get back in the game, but Logan made a nice diving save on a bid from Reeder from just outside the penalty area, and four minutes later Starr and Adams put the game out of reach, with Starr slipping a ball to Adams and then breaking into space, where Adams' slick return pass found him en route to the goal. Starr stashed his third score of the season, and Hanover had a 3-0 lead.
The next fifteen fifteen minutes gave the Marauders a chance to flaunt their depth, as subs rolled off the bench and rolled up the shot total. According to Joe Pych's detailed statistical report, Hanover's most dominant stretch of possession was their final ten minutes, as Ben Sobel, Dillon Bradley, Elias Zinman, Liam Collins and Griffin Johnson put on an exhibition of ball control and short passing. With eight minutes to play, Collins found Zinman at the top of the box, and the feisty sophomore ripped a left-footed shot that deflected off of a defender and looped into the next for his first varsity goal, 72 hours after one from the same spot got away against Spaulding.
Logan's second shutout of the season was particularly well-earned. In addition to his two excellent saves, his kicking game was powerful and effective, he came off his line repeatedly and unerringly, and he handled a number of back passes superbly. Well, all but one.
Next up for the Marauders is a trip to Bedford and the GPS soccer complex for a game with Merrimack. Wheels up at 1:30 on Friday.
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