JV2 Beats Hartford For Season's First Win

(Thanks and congratulations to JV2 Coach Ian Caldwell for this well-written summary)

The start of the 2021 soccer season has been much like the start of the school year: quick, ever-changing, yet calmly familiar. Tonight's match for the Hanover High School JV2 Boys was a testament to grit and flexibility of this collective of young men.


Hanover, humbled by an opening day 9-2 loss against Sunapee, were hungry to start tonight's match on the front foot. As soon as the whistle sounded, all 11 white-shirted players stepped forward with swagger (earned from a hard week of training) to put Hartford on the back foot. Their opponents' first three touches on the ball were forced backwards before final pressure from Will Taylor on the right-wing earned Hanover an attacking throw-in without even having touched the ball. Foreshadowing?

What followed was a gruelling 30 minutes of defense from the Home side. Camped with both defensive lines outside their box, Hartford did well to manage Hanover to long-shots from outside the box at the beginning of the match. Wyatt Seelig was the first to test Hartford's keeped with a right-footed missile sailing just over the crossbar. Berkeley Chamberlain was next up with some nifty footwork on top of the box, before flicking a college-level through ball into Jack Wilkinson's feet inside the box, unfortunately the chance was covered by three defenders before Jack could manage a shot.

Chamberlain worked his Berkeley-top-of-the-box-magic (TM) again, this time finding an on-rushing Simon Taenzer. Simon stepped past the first two defenders before he was hauled-down by the third. The officials seemed just as baffled as Taenzer, and after about 30 seconds of everyone on and around the field looking at each other, an indirect free-kick was awarded to Hanover. One wouldn't guess our team has not practiced for this situation before, because Chamberlain immediately took the ball, knocked it back to Simon Taenzer, who smashed the ball into the back of the next (with a slight deflection from Alex Brackett's foot, sorry Simon) Hanover 1, Hartford 0. Halftime.

Hanover started the second half as hungry as the first. Their constant waves of attacks were expertly supported by the back-four of Liam Foston, Wyatt Sklarin, Veteran Kevin Chou, and Blake Bouchard. Their steadfast work was the framework for Hanover's attacking freedom tonight, and the forwards took full advantage. Sophomore Keeper Iver Skogerboe started a counter attack about 15 minutes into the 2nd half that found the feet of Wyatt Seelig, who combined with the crafty, ever-useful Trevor Lichtenstein, slipped the ball through to Junior, Captain Alex Brackett (What is he doing up there?!). Brackett, a leader by Title and action, found himself through on goal for the 2nd time tonight. This time, he made up his mind early and smashed the ball to the right of the keeper for a clutch 2nd goal of the match. Hanover 2 - 0 Hartford.

The remaining fifteen minutes of the match was a showcase of game-management. Trevor, who ran the midfield all-day, always found himself in the right spot to stop Hartford's counter attacks and start our own. Aaron Nyhan showcased his talent on several occasions, most notably in the 2nd half with some seriously high-level combination play with Lichtenstein on the right-flank. Jack Wilkinson was dropped back into a holding-midfield role to ensure a clean-sheet for the deserving back-line. Finn Duncan, having just signed for the squad, showed-off his athleticism with a proper shift at striker (playing there for the first time!). Finally, as Hartford's legs got heavier, Berkeley Chamberlain flicked a bouncing-ball through to Patrick Donegan who struck through the ball, and finished it into the left corner, a beautiful finish from one of the hardest-working players on the squad. 3-0. Final Whistle.

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