Varsity Beats Winnacunnet 2-1 on Senior Day

 The Varsity closed the regular season on a high note, beating Winnacunnet 2-1 on Senior Day to finish with a record of 12-3-1.  Hanover is now locked into third place in the NHIAA Division One standings, and will open the playoffs on Tuesday, probably against Portsmouth. They got first half goals from Becket McCurdy and Zach Tracy and player excellent team defense after conceding a goal early in the second half.

Prior to the game, the Hanover seniors and their Winnacunnt counterparts were honored at a brief but meaningful Senior Day ceremony.  The Winacunnet seniors were great sports, choosing to remain and honor the Hanover players after they had received their goodie bags and been invited to return to warmups.  The 11 seniors have all made significant contributions to the team this season, and were richly deserving of recognition.  They are:  Connor Hamlin, Murphy Hunt, Luke Ives, Jacob Kubik-Pauw-Pauw, Oscar Miller, Palmer Okai, Eric Rimmer, Jack Ross, Zane Schiffman, Pierce Seigne, and Manger Eric Tysinger.

Once the game began, Hanover did a good job taking control.  Oscar set the tone in the third minute, closing fast on the goalkeeper and nearly blocking his clearing pass back into the goal.  Ten minutes into the match, shortly after Hanover had threatened on a corner kick, Eric Ringer took control of a loose ball at the top of the penalty area and hit a hard shot into traffic.  The ball found its way to Becket McCurdy, and from him it deflected off a defender and in.  It was Becket's first goal of the season, but won't be his last.  Eight minutes later, Zach Tracy forced a corner kick with a hard shot that was saved by goalkeeper Tanyon Ziolkowski, who dove to his left and punched it out of bounds.  The corner kick created a scramble in the box, and Jack Gardner poked it to Tracy, who hammered it home for his second goal of the season, and Gardner's first assist.  

Hanover wasn't finished on offense.  McCurdy had a shot blocked, and Jack Ross continued his quest to score on a corner.  Given the time of year, Hanover only needs one from him to make it worth the wait.  At the other end, Winnacunnet rarely threatened.  They had one threat on a corner kick, but the resulting header was wide.  Their one promising free kick opportunity was a long-range shot handled efficiently by Ty Nolon for his only save of the game.

Cautioned at halftime to set the right tone for the second half, Hanover promptly allowed a goal inside of two minutes. One one of several long throw-ins by senior Matt Maggione, who was illegally hustled to the midfield subbing spot every time a throw-in was conceded, the ball was headed clear to the top of the penalty area.  Winnacunnet  midfielder Hunter Eaton was first to the ball, Hanover was slow to pressure, and Eaton's shot through traffic found its was past Jackson McBride, who had just taken over in goal.  Winacunnet was of course energized by the goal, and spent a good spell of time creating dangerous chances in the Hanover end. Ten minutes into the half, one of the many mysterious calls by the agent of chaos disguised as a painfully slow official gave Winnacunnet a free kick right at the top of the box.  Willen Belanger ripped a hard shot past the Hanover wall, and McBride made a superb diving save to deny a sure goal.  The game turned on that save.  Hanover relaxed and began to possess the ball well at midfield, and their patient, probing offense took a lot of pressure off of the defenders.

Oscar had a number of good looks, and at 62:00 Eric Ringer broke free into the  Winnacunnet box and hit a shot that forced Ziolkowski to make a diving save.  The Warrior keeper was getting an earful from the Hanover fans behind the goal, who seemed particularly interested in his hat. Not the best job accessorizing.

Winnacunnet had two more half-chances with ten minutes left to play.  After another mysterious free kick opportunity, Ty Mitchell put a shot over the bar.  Minutes later, McBride did a nice job coming off his line to grab a 50-50 ball at the edge of the box.  Hanover had all of the good chances at the end of the match.  On the best looking one, Oscar hit a long cross to Murphy Hunt, who headed the ball back across the face of the goal to Carter Guerin, who just missed at the far post.  Oscar missed a point blank sitter, and as time wound down, Hanover did a great job seeing the match off.  The margin could have been larger, but it was an efficient victory which locked Hanover into a good playoff position.

The playoffs are a whole different animal, and Hanover should do well if they play one game at a time, keep learning, and get everyone healthy.  Plan for a good match on Tuesday.  If the bracketology is correct, it's probably Portsmouth. a decent, well-coached team. Stay tuned.