Hanover finished their regular season with a flourish, exploding for three goals in the second half to break a scoreless tie and beat Salem 3-0. With the win, the Marauders concluded with a 14-2 record, the best regular-season mark for the program in three years. They clinched third place and a first-round bye in the NHIAA Division One playoffs, and will host a quarterfinal match on Saturday, October 29th at 2:00 p.m.
Casey Starr scored twice to pace the Hanover offense, and reached the 10-goal mark. Junior Sam Pych, who scored in the season opener against Londonderry, tallied his second goal of the year in a moment of symmetry.
It took the Marauders a while to settle into the match on Salem's small, slick pitch, and they also showed great restraint in handling the earnest efforts of a referee who lost his way to the recreational league he was scheduled to officiate and ended up witnessing his first-ever Division One game. The first half was scoreless, and the Marauders almost conceded the first goal. Moments after Casey Starr's far post finish was just wide, Salem Striker Josh Fichera broke in alone on the Hanover goal but was stuffed with a great save by Patrick Logan. Salem tried continually to spring Fichera, and he was offsides four times, nevertheless challenging the Marauder defense.
Hanover had a few more close calls as they began to get comfortable. Liam Collins sent a wonderful volley form the left flank to Charlie Adams, who headed just over the bar. With seven minutes to play, Salem goalkeeper Anthony Bellomo made a nice save on another bid by Starr, who was coming closer and closer to finding the back of the net.
The Marauders were calm and confident at halftime, and felt that things would break their way in the second half. It turns out they didn't have to wait very long. In the first minute, a nice buildup gave Marcus Helble an open shot from eight yards out, but his scoring bid went straight into Bellomo's breadbasket. Hanover continued to dominate territorially, and eleven minutes after the interval Starr and David Seigne converged on a loose ball in the box, and Starr got the final touch and gave Hanover the only goal they would need. Minutes later, Liam Collins' search for his first varsity goal almost bore fruit, when his screaming volley from a Henry Kahl cross. It was the third game in a row the Collins had claimed at least one assist, and gave him a season total of six.
Ten minutes after the Marauders broke the ice they emphatically doubled their lead. Liam Collins drove a corner kick into the box, and Sam Pych was well-positioned for a a rebound, blasting it into the back of the net. Less than four minutes later, Starr claimed his 10th goal, converting a wonderful feed from Kahl, who tied Charlie Adams for the team lead in assists with ten. Hanover stayed hungry. Sam Strohbehn drove a beautifully flighted free kick just over the bar, and as substitutes poured off the bench, the offensive quality continued (or maybe even improved?). Charlie Adams had a great crack on goal after a pass from Nico Mayo-Pushee, and Sander Macaulay, who played superbly at midfield, lined up a long shot from way out that had a great chance of doing some damage.
Ben Sobel, Roger Danilek, Simon Kahan and Benjamin Parrado continued their strong play on defense, allowing Logan to record his 7th shutout of the campaign. Hanover's eight clean sheets surpassed last year's regular season total by two, just one more way in which this season's accomplishments have allowed this year's team to stand strongly alongside its Division One predecessors.
Hanover's regular season is over, but the NHIAA season has several days to run, and it will be a while until the Marauders figure out who their quarterfinal opponent on October 29 may be. Of course, all of the contenders will first have to survive an opening round game against a lesser seed. If form holds completely, though, the betting here is that it will be the Exeter Blue Hawks making the trek to Hanover for the second time in three years. More on that later. The Marauders will train for three days, take the entire weekend off, and then get together on Monday for a post-season doubleheader on the turf. First, the Marauder Freshmen will take on their arch rival, the HHS girls' Varsity at 3:30. Then the boys' Varsity will host Lebanon in a working scrimmage at 5:15. These former bitter rivals, now longstanding friends and mutual fans, who give each other the chance to work hard on restarts, and do some fine tuning as they head into a precious week of preparation.
The Marauders have come a long way since August, and put together an impressive resume. There is much about which they can be very proud. But there's still an upside. As well as this team has played on occasion, every one of them knows that they can do more. If they can find the stamina, and intelligence, and unselfishness required to build on the solid base of this regular season, there is long way that they can still travel together. The journey continues. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment