Freshmen Beat Keene 5-2; Now 6-2-2 on the Season

 The highlight of today's match was being back on our home field and having our entire team in attendance. With the sun still high in the sky, the 22 players on our active roster suited up in their maroon home kits for a rematch against Keene. Almost exactly a month ago, we played the Blackbirds in Keene and came away with a 4-1 victory (thanks to a handful of goals at the very end). Today, we came away with another 3-goal victory: 5-2 in our favor.


Ian Holmes, the sole member of our squad who, due to injury, has yet to play, was a superstar on the sidelines: setting up drills before the game, warming up our goalies, and keeping track of key statistics during the match. We're excited for him to finally suit up come Saturday!

Hanover came out hungry. Within 20 minutes of the initial whistle, we had scored 4 goals: a Sam Ames header off a Gavin Munson cross, an Alex Orsino goal off a Gavin Munson through-ball, what would prove to be the game-winning goal from Andrew Rudd with an Alex Orsino assist, and an Ezra-McGinley-Smith-assisted strike by Joseph Glass. However, from then on, our cockiness appeared to get the better of us: Keene scored 2 goals in quick succession in the 33rd and 38th minutes to cut our lead in half.

Up 4-2 at the break, we talked about keeping our foot on the gas pedal (admittedly, a confusing metaphor for a team where no one has their driver's license!). Thankfully, Andrew Rudd answered the call with a goal in the 45th minute: Sam McDonnell drove the ball hard towards the keeper, who couldn't control it, and Andrew stuck in his foot to send the ball into the back of the net. Henry Cotter returned from a hamstring injury to play 30 minutes in the second half. He and Henry Steffen ensured Keene wouldn't get back into the game with a clean sheet in the final 40.

Though we won the match, we did not play with the same intensity and quality we've shown during practice. We discussed as much during our post-game meeting. Our captains—Sam Ames, Sam McDonnell, and Henry Cotter—shared their reflections and showcased their thoughtfulness, maturity, and leadership. As they noted, we need to stay as focused as possible as we prepare for our final match of the regular season on Saturday.

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