Freshmen Play Well in 1-0 Loss on Exeter's Big Stage

 In a first for the Freshman team, the bus left 10 minutes before our scheduled departure…yes, you read that right! Every player was dressed, had eaten breakfast, had used the bathroom, and was dropped off outside school exactly when they were supposed to be. Bravo, players (and, perhaps more importantly, parents!). This bodes well for next Saturday’s 6:55am scheduled departure…

The approximately 90-minute bus ride south and east through the Granite State allowed us to appreciate the peak fall foliage weekend. We encountered bursts of rain, but our arrival at Exeter saw clear, sunny skies and a moderate breeze. A perfect day to play (assuming you weren’t on the side kicking straight into the wind!). Exeter’s boys and girls 9th grade teams rotate every match in terms of who gets to play on their grass field inside of the track and who gets to play on the new turf field inside of the stadium; today was our lucky day to play on the spacious turf!

Exeter’s squad is sizable; normally, ours is too, but playing on the road tends to diminish our numbers. In addition, Exeter has fared well against most of the Freshman competition; so have we. The stage was set for a great match—our last one before next weekend’s end-of-season Freshman tournament.

Gavin Munson, at left wing, got off to a hot start with our two first shots of the game: in the 6th minute, from the left side of the penalty box just wide of the far post, and in the 13th minute, from the same spot but into the keeper’s hands. Next, it was Exeter’s chance to attack off a corner kick; Henry Cotter couldn’t control it, and an Exeter player hit the ball hard…off the top of the crossbar. In the 24th minute, John Scherer, wearing number <ERROR: number not found>, collected the ball at the top of the penalty box and sent another shot far right. Once again, Exeter pressed on the counter attack, sending a through ball to the top of the penalty box. Henry Cotter closed the Exeter attacker down and forced a shot wide left. The game saw free kicks aplenty, and in the 33rd minute, one of Exeter’s was hit well from 35 yards out; Sam Ames, as he often does, was able to get a head on it, but he popped it straight up. Thankfully, Henry Cotter was able to snatch the ball out of the air to get us out of the jam. In the final minute of the first half, Exeter threatened one last time with a cross into the box that bounced loose but was blessedly cleared out by our backs. Halftime: 0-0.

In an effort to better win and control possession in the middle of the field, we switched our formation to a 4-4-2 for the second half. Despite now having to play into the wind, right out of the gate, the new formation paid dividends. Sebastian Bujarski—who gave a brilliant effort for the entire game at left back—played give-and-go’s up the field with Gavin Munson—now stationed at center mid—and Ian Holmes (his first game back after a season-long injury) on the left wing. Diego Lee—also in the middle—wasn’t going to be outdone on the right-side; he chased down player after player and made tackle after tackle in order to move the ball to Schuyler Clapp up top and Andrew Rudd and Ezra McGinley-Smith out wide.

In the 51st minute, Exeter earned a free kick from 40 yards out, which they played hard towards the penalty spot. Sam McDonell deflected the ball away from the net, but it was immediately picked up by an Exeter attacker, who took a point-blank shot against Henry Cotter. Stepping up to the challenge after being sidelined for a few weeks, Henry Cotter pushed the hard shot up and over the crossbar. Next, it was Hanover’s chance to threaten. Sam Ames played a through ball from midfield to Ian Holmes, who received it at the top of the 18-yard box on the left side. Ian played the ball into the middle while the Exeter keeper rushed to claim it; Andrew Rudd, zooming in from the right side, slid to reach the ball first…which he did, but his sprawling effort went just wide of the goal. Next up in this hard-fought, back-and-forth game was Exeter; in the 56th minute, our goal kick was immediately intercepted by an Exeter attacker at the top of the penalty box, who brought the ball down and rifled it into the open left side of the net. 1-0 Exeter.

To their immense credit, Hanover played with even greater urgency over the final 20 minutes; Noi Larusson, Gus Thompson, and Dan Rush gave us good minutes up top as we tried to claw our way back into the game. In the 68th minute, Sebastian Bujarski played a through ball to Isaac Novosad, who, with some fancy footwork, cut inside his defender and ripped a left-footed shot over the far corner of the goal. His best strike of the year? Without question! In the 78th minute, Gavin Munson muscled his way through the central midfield, and found himself in alone on goal. With the ball at his feet at the penalty spot and with a clear shot on goal, Gavin was denied by the tip of the Exeter keeper’s outstretched toes. Sam Ames’ rebound was rejected, and then Ian Holmes picked the ball up only to send it wide of the net. With time winding down and Hanover pressing hard, Schuyler Clapp collected a bouncing ball from 40 yards out and drove a magnificent shot back towards the Exeter goal; the wind must’ve altered the ball’s trajectory, just not enough…it hit the crossbar, bounced back out, and was cleared from the box. Less than a minute later, the final whistle blew to confirm the 0-1 result.

Hanover gave it their all, especially in the second half. Henry Steffen earned a clean sheet in the final 20 minutes, and the Two Sams (TM) were relentless as they ran to every part of the pitch. Lionel Ndong, Ben Thaler Wellborn, Teddy Abbate, and Sebastian Bujarski not only chased down Exeter’s speedy strikers, but they also, in a Hanover 2021 Freshman Team first, received 0—we repeat, 0—penalties for improper throw-ins! Next up is that all-important final week of practice before one final road trip down south.