Hanover's season ended on Wednesday with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of a very strong Manchester Central team. The Marauders played well, and were withing striking distance well into the second half, trailing 1-0 after an early first half goal. Two quick Central scores in the 54th and 55th minutes poured cold water on Hanover's hopes, although they kept battling to the end. Central, now 18-1, will advance to the finals to face Bedford, 2-0 winners over Concord and also 18-1. The loss was a downer for a Marauder team that harbored higher hopes, but it will do little to diminish the luster of a 15-4 season full of highlights. The Marauders grew as a team, won a number of exciting and well-played games and developed a closeness and chemistry that were second to none. The tears at the end of match were about the loss, sure, but were more accurately because the end of the season by definition breaks up the team.
Kicking off on under bright, sunny skies, the Marauders and Little Green spent the first ten minutes feeling each other out at midfield, although both Rahul Drupka and the wonderfully talented Josue Assantha were able to leave calling cards, ripping shots from outside the 18 that zoomed just wide of the left post. Soon, the clouds gathered, figuratively and literally. Just 13 minutes into the match, two small breakdowns on the left side of the Hanover defense gave Central the penetration needed to force a third, more telling missed tackle, and this time Drupka had the time and space to rip a shot past Hans Williams for a 1-0 lead.
Crucially, Hanover responded well to this setback, and avoided the fate which had befallen so many of Central's opponents, letting the Little Green break the game open. The Marauders doubled down on defense, and although they were unable to muster much in the way of offense against the middle of a Central defense headed by the imposing Thamba Mbungu (rumored to be a bit older than 22).
The match became more of a typical playoff match, with both teams playing for either a mistake or a moment of brilliance. There were no mistakes, but with five minutes to play on the half there was a moment of sheer brilliance. Charlie Adams took the ball at midfield and send a pass down the right flank to a streaking Amame Matsuoka. Matsuoka beat Silva Matimano to the baseline and ripped a cross across the face of the goal to David Stoffel, who had anticipated the play and made a great run of his own, meeting the ball beyond the far post and hitting a first-time pass to Liam Collins near the top of the box. Collins hit a wonderful one-touch shot of his own. Somehow, Arkan Traore scrambled back in time to get just a piece of the shot, deflecting it out for a corner. Eli Stack got a decent look at the end of Collins' suusequent corner kick. Hanover had a lifeline. They had shown themselves and everyone else at Bill Ball stadium that they could get back in the game.
Trailing 1-0 at the half, the Marauders were confident that they could continue the momentum from the first half. For the first ten minutes, everything went exactly as they hoped. The Hanover defense kept a lid on the dangerous Central front six, and Charlie Adams shook loose for a shot from the top of the 18 that forced Hayden Walker to make a diving save. This was what they hoped.
Just like that, Central struck like a serpent. Hanover started an attack up the right side, and lost the ball at midfield with a defender out of place. That's all a great team like Central needs. Two quick passes later, and Samuel Assantha, who will be around for two years to haunt Hanover after older brother Josue graduates, fed the ball to Drupka for another unerring ripper. With the score 2-0, Central did what they have done all year, and grabbed a third goal within a minute when a long ball up the middle landed in no man's land between Dillon Bradley and Hans Williams. Suddenly, Samuel Assantha was there first, and his opportunistic goal gave the Little Green a 3-0 lead.
Hanover had 20 minutes to play, and they didn't give up. Liam Collins and Charlie Adams continued to probe the Central defense tirelessly. Defenders Noah Pikielny and Gary Li showed off both Hanover's depth and their resolve to get the Marauders back in the game. Patrick Osborn was relentless up front, nearly getting on the end of a great Adams through ball that resulted in the ball being cleared off the goal line. Both Osborn and Adams had successive close calls at close range following a Collins corner with five minutes to play. Central, understandably, kept their starter in the match, and shortly afterwards Josue Assanthe notched Central's fourth goal. Insult added to injury. Wait. More insult/injury. Charlie Adams was tripped on the box, clearly, and the game just kinda went on. The whole team had been practicing penalties, too. Chances are a wild-eyed and GU-deprived Colm Seigne would have stepped up for that one. Or maybe the incredibly-deserving Gary Li. But no, the Marauders ran out of time, and sadly, unhappily, their great season was over.
There will be ample time for celebrating the season, beginning on November 12 at the all-team gala. For now, the Marauders will lick their wounds, file their college applications by midnight, wash their uniforms, complete their school assignments, and ease into that dark time with no more soccer.
