Freshmen Beat Bedford 3-0 For Season's Second Win

 It was a beautiful day out in the ol' "pasture" for the Freshman team's first home game of the season. The parking lot was packed...with people enjoying the weekly Farmer's Market, but that didn't put a damper on the excitement and energy of the players. Before the match, photographer extraordinaire Rob Grabill arranged a team shot (he really does it all!), and then it was time for the kickoff against Bedford.

Throughout the match, Hanover's defense was all but impenetrable. The Two Sams (TM) anchored the backline, and one has to believe that all those Farmer's Market folks heard Henry C barking his compliments and commands for the duration of the 60 shutout minutes he played in goal. (Henry S eagerly took over in the second half and secured the shutout.)

Gavin, Sebastian, Ben, and Dan were dangerous along the left-flank—winning tackle after tackle and creating chance after chance. Upfront (and briefly in the back), Schuyler showed off his superb fitness for the 73 (!) minutes he played.

It wasn't long before the goals started coming: 2 in the first 20 minutes from Alex. The second off a hard shot that the keeper deflected back out...but Alex was perfectly positioned near the far post to tap the ball into the back of the net. At halftime, Coach Ned reminded the team to put weaker opponents away and not let them claw their way back into the game, which Joseph did with a hard-fought goal in the 55th minute.

While the team often traded effective heads-up passes for ineffective long balls down the field and into crowds, Lionel, Jai, Diego, John, and Isaac set excellent examples for their teammates when they'd win a tackle, use the space that was given to them, and make an on-point pass to begin our attack. The coaches are hoping to see more of these smart, simple passes in the games to come.

Ultimately, Hanover controlled the entire match. Against an undermanned Bedford squad, part of the reason we were able to achieve this impressive result was due to the energy off the bench—notably from Ezra, Teddy, Noi, and Gus. Each of these players slotted in when and where we needed them to and ensured that the Freshman team would start the season with a 2-0 record.

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