JV1 Shuts Out Merrimack; Now 5-2

Hanover's JV1s made their debut on the hallowed turf of Merriman-Branch Field and auspicious one, scoring early and often and playing tight defense to beat Merrimack 4-0.  It was the second win in two days for the Marauders, who now boast a record of 5-2 against some of the top teams in Division One.  Henry Aspinwall scored twice to pace Hanover, notching multiple goals twice in a 24 hour stretch.  He now leads the team with seven goals in seven games.

Peter Burnham got the Marauders going quickly, taking a nice lead pass from Eric Ringer in the third minute and lashing a screamer from the left side of the penalty area.  Three minutes later Aspinwall doubled the lead, winning the ball at the top of the box on the right side and slotting the ball into the left side of the goal.  Hanover kept a territorial edge and kept pushing, with Will Ermarth getting a good shot on goal from a corner.  Midway through the half Ringer had a crack that grazed the post from well outside the box.    Theo Sparks hit a shot that was just wide of the mark with 15 minutes remaining, and a minute later Quincy McBride hit paydirt, taking a pass from Alex Stephens and hitting a left footed shot from the top of the box. Evan Nichols almost made it 4-0 with a big time header off another corner just three minutes later, but the Marauders satisfied themselves with a 3-0 lead at the interval.

The Marauders came out at the start of the second half determined to add to the led and ice the game, and five minutes in they did just that, with Aspinwall collecting his second goal of the game following another long range throw-in from Ringer, who now leads the team with four assists.  Hanover still wasn't satisfied, and kept pressing. Burnham had a couple of cracks at his second goal of the day, shooting just wide after a good through pass and then launching a shot through the uprights for a field goal.  The final offensive push was orchestrated from the duo of playmaker Pierce Hamlin and deadly striker CJ Wheelan, eager to replicate his summer soccer scoring binge of one goal.  Wheelan and Jack Maynes split the light duty work in goal to share the shutout.

Hanover returns to action on Tuesday with a home game against Alvirne before heading to Exeter the following day for a makeup game against the always-tough Blue Hawks.