Freshmen Beat Keene 4-1; Remain Unbeaten at 3-0

 It’s been a busy few days for the Freshman team! After Sunday’s rest day between games, Hanover was back in action on the road Monday against Keene. The Blackbirds were geared up for a grudge match…and were done with their warm up before Hanover even arrived at the field a few minutes after the scheduled kickoff time! (A big thank you to Keene and the officials for letting us get a short warm up in!)

Hanover won the coin toss and decided to defend the goal facing the setting sun. A curious decision? Not when you consider where the sun would be in the second half!Despite the difficulty of keeping track of the Keene keeper’s almost full-field punts, Hanover started strong once again with two goals in the first quarter of the match. In the 14th minute, Sam A made a beautiful run from the back and played a short cross from one side of the goal box to the other, which Schuyler tapped into an open net. Then, in the 19th minute, amid the scramble after a corner kick, Gavin played another short pass from the left post to an uncovered Schuyler (impressive to see how he got himself free!), who tapped in another goal for his second of the match.

Alas, Hanover took it too easy too soon, and the Blackbirds quickly got one back in the 21st minute. Despite controlling play for the rest of the match, Hanover struggled to find the back of the net thereafter. With the Blackbirds tiring and their keeper staring straight into the sun, Hanover sent a dozen shots just off frame or directly into the keeper’s arms.

Thankfully, Sam A and Sam M, whom we expect to play with precision and passion for the full game, continued to control the backfield. Henry C was excellent and exuberant for 60 minutes in goal—no need for a play-by-play announcer when you have him ensuring everyone’s in position—and Henry S made several key stops and clearances to earn another clean sheet. (Indeed, his play was so impressive that the bench cleared to rush him when the final whistle blew!)

At wing back, Sebastian, Jai, Lionel, Ezra, Gus, Ben, and Teddy shut down the Keene’s clever and quick forwards while also managing to start a number of our attacks. Indeed, the squad did a much better job tonight with simple, short passes to move down field with more control. Much of that credit is due to the midfield play of Alex, Jospeh, Diego, Isaac, and John. Of course, we’ve also come to expect serious chances being created by our wing midfields, and Gavin, Ben, Andrew, Wynn, and Ezra didn’t disappoint—now, the job for the squad is to finish with a shot on goal! (And a special shout-out to Noi, who, as striker, muscled past Keene’s defense to create a few well-placed crosses of his own!)

And, as fate would have it, with the final whistle growing near, Hanover game alive with two goals in the final two minutes! Alex—after having a potential header into an open net skim by, kneeing the ball into the keeper’s arms, and hitting the crossbar only to see the ball miraculously bounce back out—received a beautiful clearance ball from Schuyler and put a superb shot into the back of the net from 18 yards out. Then, in one of the final plays of the match, a Gavin corner from the left side found a leaping Ben, who headed the ball home with authority.

Now, the team has a week of practice before Saturday’s big home match against Concord on the HHS Turf. No time to ease up!

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