Hanover Boys Flourish on a Hot Day - Schedule Update

Dog-day August heat notwithstanding, Wednesday was a very productive day for the program. Taking advantage of the opportunities which fell our way, we made significant progress in forming our four teams. Our morning session gave Freshman Coaches Jason Hirschhorn and Ned Harris the chance to meet with many of their candidates, and thanks to a well-organized scrimmage against a JV2 pool with JV1 friends, they were ready for a hastily-scheduled scrimmage with the Girls' varsity. More on that afternoon encounter in a moment. We had named the JV1 team the night before, and it might have been easy for those not named to give less than their all, or even show up. But so many of them not just showed, but were excellent. I could not be prouder of these young men, many of whom I have seen all summer, and just about all of who have worked hard on their game, and improved so much. Collectively, in one morning, they established the fact that the JV2 team will have a strong roster, and a great experience under Coach Ian Caldwell. I was suffused with joy. The JV2 and Freshman pools will train tomorrow, and we'll name the teams Thursday night, a day later than initially expevcted. Thanks, Hurricane Henri! ***Schedule update: Training Thursday morning will be for JV1, JV2 and Freshmen. In other words, everyone but the Varsity. Training will go from 10:00 - 11:30. We have an eye on the heat forecast, and activate the hose at the end of the session. The JV1 will stay after the end of training to get their uniforms, to be ready for Friday's road trip. The Varsity will train at Dresden on Thuesday from 4:00- 6:00. Friday's schedule is centered around the most important event - HHS Orientation. All freshmen and transfers will be attending, and we also have a number of Student Leaders leading. After orientation is over, just in time at 1:30, the JV1 and Varsity teams will depart for Concord. They should plan on eating a light lunch before getting on the bus, after rising at a reasonable time and eating a robust breakfast. At 4:00 on Friday, the Freshmen and JV2 teams will train at Dresden and receive their uniforms. Now a bit on today's afternoon activity. The Girls' Varsity was scheduled to scrimmage with Burlington, but the match was cancelled due to the Vermont Principals' Association heat guidelines. They agreed to scrimmage the Freshmen at Dresden instead, and thanks to the morning's scrimmage with the JV2 crew, the Frosh were ready. As has been the case in recent years, the match was close and well-contested and respectful and mutually beneficial. The teams played three 15-minute periods, and the 'shmen scored the only goal of the match in the first one, when John Scherer found time and space at the top of the box and hit a left-footer that tucked just under the bar and in. The Girls were a handful, and dominated possession, spending a lot of time in the Freshman end of the field. Center backs Sam Ames, Sam McDonnell and Gus Thompson did a great job in front of goalkeepers Henry Cotter and Henry Steffen, who watch the Girls' best shot glance off the post before he could deal with the rebound. Flank defenders Teddy Abbate, Dan Rush, Lionel Ndong and Ezra McGinley-Smith did a great job containing the opposition without diving in. The freshmen got strong performances at midfield by Joseph Umwizeye, Joseph Glass, John Scherer and Alex Orsino, and equally good games from wingers Benjamin Thaler-Wellborn, Gavin Munson, Andrew Rudd and Sebastian Bujarski. Both Rudd and Munson created great scoring opportuities. Strikers Schuyler Clapp and Noi Larusson showed a lot of improvement in their runs off the ball. The match was a great learning opportunity for both teams. In the meantime, the Varsity made the long trek to Manchester, Vermont, for a pair of 40-minute scrimmages at Applejack Stadium, an amazing gem of a soccer pitch. The players had been primed to expeect a nice field. What they found exceeded expectations. The field is actually better than Dartmouth's Burnham Field. It was an honor to use the pitch that will see action from a number of college teams in the weeks ahead, including UVM and Middlebury. Hanover, two days removed from their opening game at Concord, showed that they were ready. Against an athletic Burr and Burton Academy team, they scored three times in the first 18 minutes. Eric Ringer scored on a nice assist from Ryder Hayes six minutes into the match, and then goalkeeper Ty Nolon made the play of the game with an excellent save on a shot that should have tied the match. Boosted by his effort, Hanover made the score 2-0 on a Murphy Hunt goal, assisted by Jacob Kubik-Pauw. Less than five minutes later, Ryder Hayes and Oscar combined to set up Eric Ringer for his second score of the day, and fifth since Saturday. Nolon came off his line to win a 50-50 ball that iced his clean sheet, and Hanover had a satisfying 3-0 win. The second match was against a very capable Mount Anthony Union squad that managed to keep Hanover off the board for 40 minutes, despite several good chances, notably by Carter Guerin, Charlie Forbush, and basically the entire team with a flurry at the end. Once again Ty Nolon wasn't tested regularly, but he made one big save to earn a shared shutout with closed Jackson McBride. No food on the bus? No problem. The lads chowed down on pizza in the park before heading home. It was a great way to spend one of the waning days of summer.