Marauders Beat Pinkerton 1-0 on Adams' Great Goal

The Marauders took a giant step  towards postseason success with a critical 1-0 victory over archrival Pinkerton on Friday,  combining strong team defense with a sensational goal by Charlie Adams, his 18th goal of the season.  The win gave Hanover sole possession of third place in the NHIAA Division One standings with an 11-3 record, and moved then closer to a coveted second round home game.

The Marauders had last seen Pinkerton in their final playoff game last season, and the sting from that penalty kick defeat was lessened significantly by Friday's victory, which took place in a playoff-like atmosphere.  The match was hard fought and full of close calls and big plays, and in the end Hanover's composure and brink-of-disaster defense made the difference.

The Marauders looked ready for prime time right from the outset, as Christo Dragnev took a dangerous shot in the first minute.  His bid was wide to the left, but it was a calling card that the home side was ready to start the match on their front foot.  Dragnev was back at it moments later, taking a feed and penetrating deep into the box before his slightly delayed shot was blocked by a Pinkerton defender.

The Astros took only two shots in the first half, thanks to a strong Marauder possession game, but their first one was a dangerous header by Trevor Demers off of a corner kick (given away unnecessarily) that was saved by Hans Williams.

Blake Palmer was dangerous on the left flank in the early going, launching a good shot on goal after cutting into the box on his right foot.  Dillon Bradley got open for a far post header on a Liam Collins corner kick, but his bid was saved easily by Astro goalkeeper Max Fairbanks.  The best bid in the early going came after Amane Matsuoka penetrated on the right side and slid a pass to Eli Stack for a left footer that was headed to the corner before Fairbanks made a great dive to his left to deny the goal.  The Marauders had another great look when a series of short passes between Collins and Adams brought Collins right to the doorstep before his shot was blocked.

Adams had taken a few speculative shots from outside the penalty area earlier in the half, and as time was winding down, he got another opportunity after a good tackle in the Hanover end brought the ball back into Pinkerton territory. Blake Palmer crossed the ball into the center, and after Pinkerton got the next touch the ball came to Adams 25 yards out. With typically efficient preparation, Adams found room to rip a shot that zipped into the lower right corner with 15 ticks left in the half.  It was a dagger to Pinkerton's heart.

Each side knew that the next goal scored would be the decisive one, and each team worked particularly hard, increasing the tension with each passing minute. Hanover refused to sit back, and continued to possess the ball patiently  and look to double the lead.  Pinkerton was equally resolute, though, and created some dangerous chances.  Ten minutes after the interval, several Astro passes in the zone gave Will D'Amico a good look on the left side of the box, but Dylan Kotlowitz made a great block to deny the shot.  Minutes later, Hans Williams showed great command of his box on a free kick played into traffic, coming out strongly to grab the ball at its apex.

The Marauders came close several times midway through the half.  Amane Matsuoka, who gave Pinkerton problems all afternoon, got loose on the right side and rolled into the middle like Messi, blazing a shot over the crossbar.  Adams hit a rocket from his sweet spot outside of the box, but it took off and cleared the bar by several feet. Collins and Dragnev each came close with their bids.

Pinkerton was hardly finished.  Midfielder Henry Andrews hit an absolute screamer from 20 yards that only cleared the crossbar by a foot or two.  Yikes.  Minutes later, Kyle Doucette, a rock all afternoon at center back, made a crucial block on a shot attempt by Demers with five minutes remaining.  Play moved to the other end, and once again Matsuoka was a threat, beating his defender to the baseline and hitting a hard shot fro a bad angle that was swallowed by Fairbank.

Pinkerton had been raining balls into the box all afternoon, and with time winding down they had one more chance to tie the game, with a free kick 30 yards from the goal.  Pinkerton piled everyone onto the box, including goalkeeper Fairbank, hoping to emulate the famous play by Manchester United keeper Peter Schmeichel.  The Marauders got a head on the ball and then a timely clear by Matsuoka, who poked the ball ahead to Adams, who took possession at midfield as Fairbank frantically raced back to the goal.  Adams' bid at a hockey-style empty netter was blocked by a defender, but the play killed the clock, and Hanover happily celebrated a signature victory over a top-ranked opponent, claiming third place at the expense of the Astros, who could very well pop up back in Hanover for the Quarterfinals in two weeks.  Now that would erase the bitter taste from last year once and for all.

First things first.  The Marauders will return to action almost immediately, traveling to Nashua and Stellos Stadium for a Monday night matchup with Nashua North.  The Titans have been hanging around the top of the standings all season, and they will be a tough out, especially if the rain forecast for Monday evening falls with any force.  Having taken an affirmative step forward, however, the Marauders are ready to confirm their status as a team prepping for a deep run in postseason.

JV1 Drops 3-0 Decision to Pinkerton

The JV1s ran into a powerful Pinkerton squad on Friday and struggled to score, eventually losing 3-0 after a scoreless first half.  Hanover had a promising start, when Eric Ringer headed a feed from Mitch Aspinwall over the crossbar.   The Marauders had a free kick 25 yards out in the 13th minute, but Evan Nichols couldn't find the range, popping his kick up and over.

Pinkerton was strong and athletic, and their first real scoring threat in the half came with ten minutes left.  A super-long throw in into the Hanover box sailed over Jack Maynes in goal and crossed the goal line before Tom Lyons could clear the ball.  Since no one had touched the ball, the correct call was a goal kick, and the Marauders dodged a bullet.  Two minutes later there was another close call, as AJ Ristino blocked an indirect free kick attempt in the box.

After a scoreless first half, things went downhill for Hanover.  Pinkerton took a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second half.  Keeper Jack Maynes caught a hard, inswinging free kick, but his momentum took him backwards over the goal line.  A Pinkerton breakaway was called offsides six minutes later,  and the Marauders nearly tied the game when play went the other way, with Henry Aspinwall just missing wide on a feed from Ringer.  Fifteen minutes into the half Hanover had another good bid when Mitch Aspinwall hit a corner kick to the front post.

Pinkerton got a critical goal in the 64th minute when an Astro winger broke past a Marauder defender and came in alone in on Maynes, who missed a kick save, giving the Astros a 2-0 lead.  The visitors put the game on ice nine minutes later when a giveaway in the back led straight to an Astro goal, and the final 3-0 margin.

The Marauders will return to action on Monday, heading to Nashua North for a game with the Titans.
Rain is in the forecast, but Hanover should be well prepared for the conditions.

Freshman Remains Unbeaten, Defeating Salem 5-0

The young Marauders took their show on the road Wednesday, heading to Salem high school, their furthest trip south all season. As the Marauders would find out this would be game full of firsts and some pretty strange field conditions. As they stepped off the bus they were directed towards the furthest nether regions of the Salem athletic complex and on the sunniest day the state had seen in over a week they could not see the playing field until they were almost upon it as it was completely shrouded in darkness. It was the only place in this vast complex the sun did not touch. When reaching the field, the players were unsure if they were in the right place as the field appeared  to be where the U9s would play their 7v7 games. Alas, they were in the right place and amazingly each team would cram 11 players each on to the pitch.

      For the first time all year Hanover would have to play without their rock in net. With Jackson Fisher sidelined for the game Coach Dan turned to another "rock" to man the net in Alex Rockmore. Under the tutelage of Jackson, Alex would shine in goal, aggressively coming off his line to shut down any Blue Devil attack before it had a chance to materialize. The save of the game came at the midway point of the first half. With the game still scoreless, Salem was awarded a free kick just outside the "18 yard line." (It was closer to 15 or 16 yard line, technically)  The Blue Devil striker hit a beautiful ball on frame that was curling in to the top far corner of the net. Alex, well positioned, leapt backwards and managed to get a fist to what would have been a sure goal. After that everything seemed to be easy for him and he earned his first clean sheet in net as a Hanover Marauder. 

 

      On the other side of the ball, the entirety of the first half was spent trying to figure out how to navigate the field. The Marauders struggled to find passes and make connections on a field that was half as wide as what they were used to. Hanover, usually a team that takes advantage of wide pitches and likes to create open space was having a hard time finding any space. The lone goal of the first half came at the 20 minute mark when center back and Hanover captain Palmer Okai cleared a long, high arcing ball back in to the attacking third from "midfield." The ball just about landed on the 6 yard line. The Salem keeper made the mistake of letting the ball bounce rather than catching it in the air and the ball took a big bounce over the keeper's head and came down just over the goal line for Palmer's first goal of the year. 

 

    After some halftime adjustments, the Marauders came out in the second half with a better understanding of how to navigate the pitch and play against two good Blue Devil center backs. 

13 minutes in to the 2nd half Mason Gantrish playing the right back role sent a nice through ball that split the Salem defenders and sent Murphy Hunt, playing in a false 9 role, in a foot race against the two center backs. Sandwiched between the two, Murphy won the battle and poked the ball by the keeper. It was Mason's first assist on the season and Murphy's third goal. 

 

    After that, the Marauders depth really showed. Playing against a Salem team that had only two subs, Hanover's fresh legs took over the game. Salem worked hard for the first 60 minutes to keep pace with Hanover but they could not keep that work rate up for 80 minutes and the final 13 minutes of the game saw three more goals from the Marauders. Jacob Rimberg notched his first goal of the season assisted by Jacob Kubik-Pauw. Oscar Miller got his fifth goal of the season also assisted by Jacob KP. The final goal of the game came from Jacob KP, who was the first player this year to see time in the midfield, defense and attack in the same game. He had one assist from midfield, a goal and an assist from the striker position and made a breakaway saving slide tackle on defense. 

 

      Hanover will hit the road again on Monday, heading to Exeter to put their 8-0 record on the line against an always tough Blue Hawk team. They will close their season on Saturday with a road trip to play a very strong Cardigan team.

Schedule Update: Freshmen and JV2 Will Go To Cardigan

The schedule for next weekend has been finalized.  The Freshman team will not participate in the Concord Tournament next Saturday.  They will play at Cardigan in a 1:00 game.  The JV2 team will also play at Cardigan Saturday at 1:00.  The JV 1 team will play in the Nashua Tournament on Sunday.  Departure time for the bus on Sunday will be 1:00.

We are looking for volunteers from Varsity, JV2 and Freshman teams to volunteer as referees for the Hanover Recreation Department Soccer Jamboree on Sunday, Oct. 21.  Please contact Coach Grabill is you are interested in helping referee.

JV2 Drops a pair of Midweek Games

The JV2 team played a pair of rematches on Tuesday and Wednesday, facing reinforced teams from Sunapee and Lebanon, losing 6-1 to Sunapee and 7-4 to Lebanon.

It was a unusually warm October afternoon on Tuesday as the Marauders took to the pitch against Sunapee for the rematch. Sunapee seemed to have some new players which did not play into Hanover's favor this time.  This was evident as the speedy and skilled front line of the Lakers scored quickly as they got the ball past our back line.  Hanover seemed to wake up for a little and found its opportunity on a cross into the box of Sunapee where Maxwell Lutz could step in to deflect into the side netting for the point. 

 

It seemed to be a back and forth contest, though Sunapee was not done yet and once again managed to get past our backline for tow more points. At the half, there were some changes made, but we still couldn't seem to pull it all together as they scored off a corner where it bounced awkwardly of an unmarked man.  Sunapee would make another goal off a header from a corner kick.  The final goal would result inbreakthrough and one on one with Matt Alibozak.

 

    Though this was not the best performance for the Marauders, there was some notable play and hustle by players such as Matt Fenner and Finn Seville.  Ben Brooks had a strong game reading the offense and chasing down attacking wingers. The team was definitely rusty, but their spirits remained high after the setback as they faced the week ahead.

 

A hot and humid Wednesday afternoon awaited Hanover as they traveled to Lebanon for the rematch.  Like the afternoon before, the opponents looked a little bit taller than the previous time they played.  There were also couple of aspects to the pitch that we should of noted before the kickoff.  The pitch was noticeably shorter and firmer than Hanover was used to playing on.  This resulted in a style of attack for Lebanon where the ball could easily clear the midfield from a goal kick and in a couple bounces be near the opposing eighteen.  This style definitely benefited a strong, and skilled forward, who capitalized on this for two goals within 10 minutes.  A third goal would be created shortly after.  Facing this deficit, the dynamic duo of Ayaan Ahmad and Pierce Seigne stepped on the field to create some havoc.  It would be Aidan Tomlin though who would create a goal out of this for his first point of the season.   Hanover had managed to get into the attacking third where Ayaan outmaneuvered a couple of players and he realized he still had players in front of him, thus he laid off the ball to Aiden Tomlin who looked up and realized a chip shot, instead of a blistering drive would do the trick as he watched his shot arc over a defender and just out of reach of the keeper.   Though Lebanon would go on to create three more goals due to some mismatches and a relentless forward, that moment was a glimmer of opportunities to come.    

 

    The second half could have been the continuation of a very long afternoon, but it was at this time where players who were in the background had a chance to  emerge onto the scene.  This seemed to happen for players such as Charlie Bell, Simi Obomsawin, and Jackson Liu, where they showed strong play on both offense and defense.  Aiden Tomlin had also showed a move where he eluded two Lebanon players on smooth ball handling alone.  The Ahmad -Seigne connection would result in two goals as Ayann played a couple passes to Pierce who would go on to create two goals with his bullrush-esque style of attack.   Jackson Liu also earned his first goal of the season with some clever passing  upfront and taking a well placed shot that deflected into the corner of the net. There would another opportunity for a goal as well when Boris earned a penalty kick. Max stepped up to take it, and it was on its way just to bounce off the left post.   

     

    Lebanon would earn one more goal on a breakaway, but the second half was definitely in Hanover's favor. Though this was a loss, it was strong way to finish the game, and the Marauders seem be back on track and going in the right direction again.

 

 

 

All Soccer at Dresden Cancelled Thursday

All games and practices at Dresden are cancelled today:  Freshman game, and JV1 and 2 practices.

Varsity Soccer training on the turf from 3:30 - 5:00 will go on as scheduled.

Marauders Take Care of Business Against Winnacunnet, 9-1

Hanover took another step closer to their postseason destiny on Tuesday, taking care of business against an undermanned but determined Spaulding side, defeating the Raiders 9-1.  The win was the 10th of the season for the Marauders, and sets up a Friday showdown against Pinkerton, which will bring an identical 10-3 record into the battle between third-place teams, each eager to take a step closer to a top-four finish.

The Marauders knew that they would be facing an outmatched opponent, given Spaulding's winless record, in part because of critical injuries to several of their best players.  The best way to approach such a game is the play well, play hard, but respect the opponent.  Hanover's solution on this day would be to make sure that no player scored more than one goal, and no one would score after the score reached nine.  Both of those goals were accomplished, and everyone on the roster got a lot of valuable playing time.  Just as importantly, there was enough quality play to ensure that the game would not be a step backwards.

Charlie Adams and Liam Collins figured out that the best way to stay in the game wold be to focus on assists, and the plan worked well.  After nine minutes of patient play, exactly what had been requested, Christo Dragnev hit the first real shot of the match, taking a short back pass from Blake Palmer and forcing goalkeeper Luke Abbett to make a nice diving save. A minute later, Adams found room on the baseline and fed a ball to Aiden Rowley, who finished clinically for his fourth goal of the season and the first seat on the bench.  Five minutes later Collins hit a pass from deep in midfield and sprung Dragnev for a breakaway, which he guided well over bumpy turf before finishing at close range for his fifth of the year, and a seat next to Rowley.  Pat Osborn took over for Dragnev up top and had enough time to break a sweat before Adams found him in front after another baseline run.
Osborn's close range tap-in was his first goal of the season.  The floodgates opened briefly, and Hanover grabbed goals from Adams and Collins in the next two minutes to make the score 5-0, and alter the lineup significantly.

It was not totally quiet at the other end of the pitch.  Spaulding was stronger offensively than several of the teams that Hanover has seen, and they had several good looks at goal before before Abe Siregar got loose for a hard shot to the corner that forced Andrew Enelow to make an excellent diving save.  The Marauders got one more goal before halftime, when Calen Banjamin made a nice cross from the left side for an easy tap-in by Amane Matsuoka at the far post to make the score 6-0.

With Rowley and Matsuoka already on the bench, the Marauders ran completely out of right wings in the second half when Nico Mayo-Pushee took a pass from Benjamin and hit a nice shot to the far corner for his first goal of the season.  Nico has worked very hard to recover from his early-season surgery, and this benchmark was another significant step forward.

To their great credit, Spaulding continue to work hard, and the created several scrambles in front of the Hanover goal.  Enelow made another excellent diving save to deny Elyar Dugall, and the rebound was bounced off the post.  After that let-off, though, Spaulding would not be denied, and out of a subsequent scramble Ryan Spayd got a great look and put the Raiders on the board.

Hanover shoot off the disappointment, and played excellent soccer for the final 25 minutes.  Toño Correa, Will Blinkhorn, Latham Allison and Nathan Subrahmanian did a wonderful job at midfield, and Colm Seigne and Ethan Ross stepped up at center back to keep the pressure on in the Spaulding end.  Latham Allison had a number of good scoring chances, but he also did a wonderful job as playmaker, penetrating the right side of the Raider box and dishing to Benjamin for a nice far post finish with his vastly-improved left peg.  Allison finished off the scoring with an unassisted goal, intercepting a clearing pass and closing hard and fast to make the final score a respectable and respectful 9-1.

The Spaulding game was a hurdle that Hanover cleared effectively, and now, to quote Bill Belichick, it's on to Pinkerton.  In case you're new to this, the last time Hanover faced Pinkerton was the Division One Quarterfinals last October, when a last-minute goal was waved off and the Marauders lost a penalty kick shootout.  Now Pinkerton comes to Hanover.  The history can serve as a motivator, but the Marauders need to focus on process if they are to emerge from Friday's match with a result.  Hanover has made strides throughout the season.  They are in a position to claim that they can be equal with some of Hanover's best teams defensively, and they have shown that they are fully capable of scoring big goal in big moments. If they can put the pieces together with the spotlight becoming brighter as the days get shorter, the final three matches of the regular season will be highly entertaining.