Hanover closed the regular season with a clinical 4-0 won over Londonderry on Senior Night, clinching third place in NHIAA Division One with a 13-3 record. The Marauders will open tournament play with a home game on Wednesday, against an opponent to be named later. The victory was the seventh on a row for Hanover, and their third consecutive shutout, backed by a strong team defensive effort. The Marauders are peaking at the right time.
Charlie Adams led the scoring with two goals and one assist, giving him 20 goals and 10 assists on the season. In the process, he passed Assistant Coach and former All-American Eric Jayne on the alltime HHS scoring list. Further discussion of individual player records will have to wait, however, as the Marauders focus on improving their team play and preparing for the playoffs.
After 16 seniors from the Varsity and JV2 programs were honored with their parents before the game, Hanover wasted little time asserting themselves. Blake Palmer tested goalkeeper Alex Huffard with a shot from the left side, and then striker Christo Dragnev had two bids. He faced an open shot from long distance after he beat Huffard to a loose ball well outside of the penalty area, but he was forced to rush his long-range left footed shot. His next take, on a feed from Adams, drifted wide from closer range.
The Marauders broke on top in the 16th minutes when Adams slipped a short pass to Blake Palmer, who had made a run into the box from the left flank. The junior winger hit a hard right footer past Huffard, and Hanover had the lead. Londonderry was unable to counter, stifled by an outstanding team defensive effort. Center backs Dillon Bradley and Kyle Doucette were superb in stepping up to challenge shooters and win head balls. In front of them, midfielders Liam Collins and Matty Gardner were tireless in winning and possessing the ball, and putting pressure on the Lancers, who were only able to muster a single shot.
Seven minutes after Palmer's goal had given the the lead, Adams doubled the advantage, taking a pass from Gardner and running from left to right as he advanced across the top of the penalty area. Having drawn Huffard to his left, Adams hit a hard shot across the grain and back to the opposite post, making the score 2-0.
Eager to improve their patience and possession in the second half, the Marauders created an early goal after Patrick Osborn's hard work pressuring a Londonderry defender earned them their first and only corner kick of the afternoon. Liam Collins teed the ball up in the corner and sent a ball across the face of the goal, where it found a lurking Matty Gardner, whose excuse-me header drifted up and over Huffard and dropped under the crossbar on the far side. It was Gardner's fourth goal, and third in his last five games.
Hanover made it 4-0 with 15 minutes to play when Eli Stack slipped a short pass to Adams, who raced in on goal and beat substitute goalkeeper Colby Dimaggio who a sassy flick that rolled into the right corner for 20th goal of the season and 40th of his career.
Soon afterwards, goalkeeper Hans Williams, who had seen little action, was forced to make a pair of brilliant saves to earn his shutout. Bisan Gurung hit a long, high shot from 40 yards out, and it was targeted to sneak under the crossbar before a backpedaling Williams drifted back and pushed the ball over the bar. No more getting chipped for this savvy senior. Three minutes later a hard shot from the left side by Tyler Vanavey forced Wiliams to make a good diving save to keep the clean sheet.
It was a satisfying Senior Day. Parents and teammates celebrated a group who have helped the program be successful in many ways. There was a multiple Gallino sighting! The team played steady, intelligent defense, and the quality of play remained high despite massive substitutions. Now the Marauders will rest up over the weekend, learn the identity of their first-round opponent, the 14th seed, and prepare for Wednesday's home game. A win in that match will produce a quarterfinal home game against very strong opposition. First things first, however. These are the days that the Marauders have worked toward for months, and the approach will continue to be a day at a time, a half at a time, a play at a time. Better than yesterday.
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