Hanover Boys Soccer 2022

The planets and stars are aligning for an exciting night of soccer at HHS on Friday.  The Varsity is hosting Goffstown at 6:30, and we would like to invite all players and parents in the program to come.  It will be more entertaining than the last time many of you were in the bleachers at Megriman-Branch Field.  The JV1 team plays Goffstown at 5:00 on the grass field.  We hope that they and their parents can them come over to the Varsity game and have a picnic supper to watch the Varsity game.  JV2 and Freshmen train at Dresden.  We hope that they can then return to HHS and have supper and join the fun.  There is room at the landing behind the near goal for at least several grills.  We can facilitate some grilling if we have a few volunteers to bring grills. Friends of Hanover Soccer can underwrite your picnic expenses if you want to grill. Maybe each team can have their own!   We are hoping to have our biggest food drive of the season. ...

  Hanover continued the redemption section of their season, putting together a businesslike 4-0 win over a hard-working Merrimack team.  In winning their second game in a row, the Bears dominated the visitors statistically and were tight defensively.   Taking the initiative from the opening whistle, Hanover left a few calling cards in the first few minutes.  Becket McCurdy had a good attempt with a far post header on a corner kick, and Carter Guerin got a free kick on goal.  The Bears were finding a lot of room on the flanks, and capitalized on the time and space in the sixth minute to take the lead. Sean Smith celebrated his second start on right wing by driving past his defender and squaring a ball to Guerin for a tap-in. The world exhaled.     Carter was off the schneid.   Hanover kept pounding.  Alex McGrath had a solid-looking far post header on another corner.  He’s getting closer every game, and should be conne...

  Another classic in the Connecticut River Derby unfolded tonight at the Maxfield Sports Complex in Hartford. Friends and family from both teams gathered to shoo-away the incoming storm and it worked perfectly as Hartford and Hanover were able to play out 70 of the 80 minute match. Almost before the first whistle even blew, both teams raced into action. Hanover was the first to knock on Hartford's door with Senior Soren Stettenheim breaking through on goal only to have his shot saved smartly by an active Hartford keeper. Off the ensuing goal-kick, Hartford was able to work the ball down the right flank and into the box where an almighty scrum broke loose. At least 10 players attempted at the ball before finally Kevin Chou got a strong boot to it to clear Hanover's lines. The game continued with great pace and this allowed both teams to create some chances. Hartford kept piling on pressure, usually down the left flank, but found themselves too far up the field and exposed on the...

  The JV2 Bears clawed eight past a talented, but young, Keene side away from home on Wednesday night. They played hard from the first minute, only conceded three fouls, and demonstrated skill and respect all match.   The first goal of the match came about 10 minutes into play. Senior playmaker, Simon Taenzer, linked with new-recruit Alejandro Esparza Soto on the right side of Keene’s half before jetting into the box and sliding a cool finish under the goalkeeper to start the scoring. Keene was able to hold off the Bears for the next 10 minutes until Will Taylor penned himself on the scoresheet with a hard near-post finish after cutting inside of two Keene defenders.    “Taylor has oozed class and commitment since I met him his sophomore year, this was expected…” -Coach Bucket, 2022   Before Keene even had a chance to reset, Berkeley Chamberlain, done with his shift on defense, found the ball on the left-side of the field again. Chamberlain looked as though the ...

      Hanover bounced back from their worst loss in many years to record one of their most one-sided, beating Alvirne 8-0 and breaking a three-game losing streak. Now 4-4, the Bears took the first step on their climb back into  Division One contention.   Six different players scored, led by Zach Tracy and Andrew McGuire, who each tallied twice, and added an assist  Jack Gardner scored the first and game winning goal, and it tied with Tracy for the team scoring lead.  Three Bears – Alex McGrath, Veer Patel and Gavin Munson, tallied their first career goals.   Although Hanover had a bright start offensively, the Bear defense looked shaky in the early going, and only a great save by Ty Nolon one a breakaway by Matt Branco kept the game scoreless in the early going.  Hanover tightened things up and began to turn up the heat on the Alvirne defense with quick passes and changing the point of attack. Thirteen minutes into the mat...

  The Hanover JV1 Bears would look to continue their high level of play from their 1-1 draw vs Windham this past Saturday when they traveled to Hudson NH to square off with the JV Broncos of Alvirne. Hanover would do well with their possession throughout but the Brancos’ back line would swarm all their backs to one side and consistently play with 9 players behind the ball. It would in fact be the Brancos with the first serious chance. In the 18th minute Henry Stefan would make a dive to his right to punch a deep shot wide; reacting quickly, Taehan Kim would be the first to and cleared it out of the area and danger. Hanover’s possession and build up would develop a bit more and sprang Andrew Rudd on a run down the right side; Andrew would look to have a chance and the Bronco keeper would make a serviceable kick save and then their sweeper back #12 cleared it before any rebound opportunity. Hanover would see one final chance before the end of the half where Joseph Rudd would take a f...

  The JV1 Bears looked get back on track following the 0-5 result vs Nashua South earlier this week, but it would no easy task facing Windham’s undefeated JV Jaguars.   Hanover would find itself with an early chance in the 4th minute where the a free kick 25 yards out. Joseph Rudd would take the kick dangerously into the 6 but the Windham keeper was able to corral it. The JV Bears would trade chances and give up a free kick to the Jaguars 3 minutes later, but it would be turned aside in similar fashion to Hanover’s by Wyatt Seelig deny any second chance. Joseph Rudd would have yet another chance from a similar area as his first free kick in the 11th. This second free kick was more dangerous flying right over the penalty spot and narrowly missing Alex Orsino’s head. Hanover would continue its pressure through the middle third with disciplined positioning from Ian Holmes and Joseph Glass holding at center mid. In the 12th minute, the Jaguars would play a dangerous ball middle bu...

  Hanover’s season took a down turn on Saturday, as the Bears ran into a physical, tactically sound Windham team that scored twice in the first half and put the game away with three more in the late going, handing them a 5-0 loss.     The defeat was Hanover’s third in a row, and dropped their record to 3-4 on the season.   The Bears were under no illusion that Windham would be an easy opponent. After three straight games against unbeaten opposition, playing the 4-1 Jaguars on their home field presented a significant challenge.  But the veteran Windham team looked nothing like the side that submitted to a 2-0 Hanover win on the same field a year ago.  There were times when the Bears looked overpowered.   For the first time this season, Hanover did not start the game with a significant territorial advantage.  Windham looked dangerous from the start, and had several good chanced in the early going.  Senior striker  ...

Hanover’s title game rematch with unbeaten and nationally-ranked Nashua South lived up to expectations as a hard-fought, high-level battle between two of the top teams in the state.  Although the Bears held a territorial edge and dominated statistically, they fell short by a 2-1 score, taking an early lead but then giving up two goals and failing to equalize.  Now 3-3, Hanover has played three consecutive matches against unbeaten teams, all tight contests.   The match started in the best possible way for the Bears. Less than three minutes into the match, a series of quick passes gave Jack Gardner the ball on the right baseline, and his quick centering pass across the face of the goal found sophomore Andrew McGuire alone in front, where he first-timed a shot for his first varsity goal and a 1-0 lead.   The Bears continued to maintain an edge in play, although Nashua South’s pressure at midfield made them work for everything.  Zach Tracy got loose i...

  Following Tuesday’s rainout, here is the revised schedule for Wednesday: The Varsity and JV1 will play Nashua South on Wednesday at 4:30 on the Turf and Grass.  Please remember that we are collecting non-perishable food items for the Hanover Community Food Pantry.  The Freshman team will practice at Dresden from 3:00 – 4:30. Their game with Bedford will be played Saturday at 10:00 at Dresden.   Nashua South is the defending Division One Champion, having completed an unbeaten season en route to the title.  The nationally-ranked Purple Panthers beat Hanover twice, a 1-0 decision during the regular season, and again in the D1 Championship.  Hanover led that match 1-0 at halftime, and after South scored two quick goals at the beginning of the second half, the then-Marauders tied the match late in the second half.  Hanover had an edge in the two overtime periods, hitting the post on shot that would have ended the game.  ...

  Hanover’s makeup match with Concord ended with a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in overtime.  The Bears dominated the match and led for most of the way, but two scrappy goals gave unbeaten Concord the win in the third match in five days for both teams. The Saturday morning match unfolded in familiar ways, with the Bears, assuming a significant territorial edge. Concord tried to press Hanover, which was a fruitless exercise that never bore fruit. Hanover’s patient possession and intelligent buildup gave them a number of chances.  They earned their first corner kick eight minutes into the match, and five minutes later, Ryder Hayes hit a free kick that was on target but right at Tide goalkeeper Nater Wachter.     Hanover took a 1-0 lead at the 18-minute mark after another free kick.  Carter Guerin’s service was cleared, but the Bears calmly maintained possession.  Owen Smith played the ball to a perfectly-positioned Jack McGrath on the ...

Saturday's Freshman game at Portsmouth was a tale of two halves. Perhaps our early wake up and long-distance travel had taken a toll on the team: in the first half vs. Portsmouth, we were out-hustled, out-scored, and generally out-played. After opening the scoring with a Ronan/Gabe goal (a hard shot by Ronan was deflected into the net by Gabe, stationed a few feet in front of their keeper), Portsmouth answered with two of their own goals in quick succession. 30 minutes in, Hanover was called for a handball in the penalty box, which Portsmouth quickly converted. Not two minutes later, a Portsmouth striker collided hard with Jackson, and both went down. While Jackson got up quite quickly, the Portsmouth player seemed unable to put weight on one of their ankles. They were eventually helped off the field and attended to by a trainer, which left Portsmouth with only ten players for the remainder of the match. It was hot out, Portsmouth was short handed, and Hanover had plenty of subs…a...

  Coming off their first loss of the season, the Hanover JV1 Bears would play their rescheduled season opener in a rare Saturday morning affair. Being down four of their players, the Bears didn’t see this as being shorthanded but rather the opportunity for everyone to get a good run in the game. Scoring chances came fast and furious for the Bears as the broke down the Crimson Tides defense with line breaking passes and big switches at the back of the attacking third. The first real chance would come in the 5th minute where Henry Werner took a corner that found Andrew Rudd on the back of the 6 where who drove it solidly with a header but square on the keeper. Hanover continued its pressure by playing its outside backs on a high line to aggressively keep the ball in the attacking third. This would pay huge dividends when Liam Foston pressed and played a ball down the right flank where Aidan Bradly would heel the ball forward then make a high centering ball; the Tide’s keeper was ther...

 We've got to give credit where credit is due: Londonderry is a talented team (all their ninth graders play on the team, even those with the ability to play up), and in their first match of the season today, they were composed, patient, and victorious—winning 6-0 over the Bears. Goals game in the 19th minute (from 25 yards out and right under the crossbar), the 22nd minute (beating our last defender and keeper for an open look), in the 46th minute (a defensive miscue allowed the Lancer striker to beat our keeper with a well placed shot to the far, bottom corner), in the 56th minute (a short shot from the left side of the goal area), in the 61st minute (a slow shot that dribbled in past our keeper's outstretched arms), and in the 73rd minute (a tap in after a diving save from our keeper deflected the ball back into the scrum). At the same time, serious credit is due to our Hanover squad, who kept their composure throughout the match, demonstrated improvement in the areas we had...

  The Hanover JV2 Boys season started off in style with a 3-3 thriller against the Hartford High School JV team.  As planned, Hanover started the match with high energy, forcing the ball down Hartford's flanks and sending driven crosses into the box. Hartford managed to repel the first few waves of Hanover attack before some nifty wing-play from Will Taylor earned a corner on the right side. The ensuing corner was swung to the back post where Alex Brackett brought it down and sent a shot goal-ward. Alex's shot took a strange bounce off the ground and right into the hand of an unfortunate Hartford defender, penalty Bears, 5 minutes played. Senior Captain, Liam Worden, took responsibility for the kick and slotted his shot into the top right of the net, a beautiful, emphatic penalty to put the Bears ahead early. Hartford was far from done, however, and got right back on the attack after kickoff. The smart, experienced central defensive duo of Kevin Chou and Captain Wyatt Skl...

  The Hanover JV Bears squared off twice this week with two games that showed a similar level of play from the Bears, but results that were anything but. This was primarily due to the level of competition that the opponents brought, but Coach Willie has been impressed with the JV play nonetheless. "I think we played well enough in both games to earn a result. It's hard to win in division one, you have to be able to focus on small details that can make the difference between earning a result or not."  Hanover squared off with the Keene Blackbirds under a slight drizzle on Monday 9/6. Hanover JV showed that they were the superior team by keeping Keene chasing the run of play by completing numerous consecutive passes, and having many more scoring chances. Hanover would convert on two chances in the first half with a header by Schuyler Clapp on a Henry Werner corner in the 12th minute and a clean up goal easily squared in by Andrew Rudd in the 18th minute. Hanover went into h...

The Hanover boys turned in their most complete effort of the young season Thursday, outplaying top-ranked and undefeated Manchester Memorial and earning a well-deserved 1-0 victory.     In recording their third straight win, the Bears combined an airtight defense with dominating midfield play and intelligent attacking, and sent notice that they will be a top contender in postseason play. There is still work to do, and the next two opponents for Hanover are the only remaining unbeaten teams.     But the Bears met a significant challenge, and played their best soccer of the season.   The first half of the game was mostly a midfield stalemate, with a small number of scoring chances as two of the top title contenders felt each other out. That said, Hanover was on the front foot, and Jack Gardner left a calling card four minutes into the match, finding space near the goal line on the right side of the goal and wheeling to ship a hard shot on goal that forced a good s...

  Hanover boys soccer won their second game in a row and first at home with a 3-2 victory over Keene Monday.  Senior Jack Gardner led the Bears with a pair of goals, and now has three on the season.  Hanover let 1-0 at halftime, and stretched their advantage to 3-0 early in the second half before Keene made it interesting with a pair of late goals.  Hanover goalkeeper Ty Nolon preserved the win with a couple of big saves in the closing minutes of the game.   Gardner opened the scoring at 35:40, taking a lead pass from Ryder Hayes.  Three minutes after halftime, a Hanover free kick into the penalty area was controlled by Becket McCurdy, who slipped the ball to Zach Tracy for a short-range shot and a 2-0 lead. Five minute later,  Andrew McGuire fed Gardner for his second goal of the game.   Nolon made seven saves for Hanover, who got strong performances at midfield from Hayes, Tracy and juniors Carter and Will Guerin. Hanover ret...

 After a well-deserved Labor Day rest, recovering from the surge of assignments from over- enthusiastic educators, the Bear soccer squads will dive into their four-day week that is crammed with opportunities. The Varsity got a head start on Monday night, training hard in the rain to prep for Tuesday's 4:30 match with Keene.  The JV1 team also hosts Keene on the HHS grass, and will meet at 3:15 to take individual and team photos.  The JV2 and Freshmen will train at Dresden on Tuesday, prepping for their upcoming matches at week's end.  The Freshmen host Londonderry on Thursday and then travel to Portsmouth on Saturday.  JV2 opens the season Friday with a home game against Hartford, and then does a quick turnaround and starts the following week by hosting Woodsville.  Stay tuned for game accounts of all of these matches, beginning Tuesday night with accounts of the Keene games!

    The Hanover Freshmen had their first road game of the season Saturday and lost 7-3 to a talented and aggressive Manchester Memorial side that taught them a number of valuable lessons.  It needs to be said right off the bat that the game was much closer than the score indicates. The score was tied at halftime, and Hanover took a 3-2 lead in the second half.  The Bear Cubs faded in the second half, and will learn a great deal from the entire experience.   Perhaps still shaking off the effects of the Saturday morning bus trip, and perhaps still thinking of their 9-0 win Concord, the Bears were ambushed five minutes into the game.  Memorial took a corner kick, Hanover failed to clear effectively, and a Crusader striker jumped onto the loose ball for an easy goal.  Hanover came back in the 11 th  minute, when Ronan Przydzielski took a corner and Sam Bagatell, doing his best Harry McGuire imitation and threw himself into the mixe...

  The Hanover JV1 Bears took to the road on for the first time of their ‘22 campaign meeting the Bedford Bulldogs on their turf field. The Bulldogs lived up to their billing as being one of the stronger programs in the state. Bedford would control play early and Hanover gave an early free kick 25 yards out that could have been trouble. Wyatt Seelig in net and the starting back line of Sebastian Bujarski, Davey Tolliday, Schuyler Clapp, and Liam Foston were equal to the task and turned away the early chance with a ball thrown in the mixer. Hanover would start to pick up its level of play working to match the level of physicality that the Bedford started with. Henry Werner has continued to be both an engine and spark plug through the middle third playing a hybrid of a 10 and 8. While Hanover was starting to match the control and effort level that Bedford had, it was Bedford who would open the books on scoring with a well played line breaking pass into the 18. However, the Bears ...

    Hanover faced a tough task on Friday night, playing a strong Bedford team (2-1 winners over Manchester Central) at Bulldog Stadium, where they had won only once, back in 2007.  The Bears bounced back from their season-opening loss in impressive fashion, beating Bedford 2-0 to even their record. Ryder Hayes and Jack Gardner at the end of each half (when the mentally strong teams do their best work), and the Hanover defense, led by Captains Becket McCurdy and Ty Nolon, limited the Bulldogs to two non-threatening shots the entire match.  The Bears had a significant edge in possession, and dominated at midfield through Hayes, Zach Tracy and Carter Guerin.   It took a while for both teams to settle into the match, and it was deep into the first half before Hanover was able to probe the Bedford defense.  A Will Guerin cross from the left flank nearly found Charlie Forbush at the far post, and shortly after that a nice buildup resulted in a Cart...