JV2 Beats Hartford 3-1 at Maxfield

 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 counter-attack. Captain Liam Worden won the ball back in the midfield and sent a delicious through ball to Soren. Stettenheim was now 1v1 with the goalkeeper but saw his attempt stopped with a strong right hand from the Hartford goalkeeper. The only problem was that the goalkeeper was a good 5 yards out of his box. Still, no call, play to the whistle, we kept going. Hanover's ability to "roll with the punches" helped us immediately after the play. Liam Worden again found Soren with another lovely through-ball. This time, Stettenheim steadied himself just on top of the box before lashing a trivela (outside of the boot, shot) against the left post and into the back of the net for Hanover's first of the night.

The first half then continued with a long period of Hanover dominance. Will Taylor, unlucky to miss out on the scoresheet tonight, put in a world-beating performance, refusing to give up on any 50-50 and constantly looking to bring his teammates into play. His efforts were matched by the rest of the squad and some good work from Wynne Bushell in the midfield put us through on goal thrice more, unfortunately none of those chances found the net. Finally, Alex Brackett, having himself a worldie of a night in the midfield, danced through several Hartford attackers before finding Berkeley Chamberlain on the left flank with 10 minutes to go. Berkeley then played a quick 1-2 with Alejandro, and then again, to ghost past two Hartford players. The second 1-2 put Chamberlain clear through on the left flank. Berkeley made a really smart decision to then play a first time ball into the box, just missing Soren's head, before finding the left boot of Simon Taenzer who put it into the back of the net with force. An emphatic, beautiful to watch, move that summarized the selfless nature of our team. A single tear shed from Coach Bucket's left eye as he nodded in approval. Also, Halftime.

The second half began with a quick rain-shower before tapering off. Hartford started on the offensive as well, creating several good chances and winning a free kick on the right hand side just above the 18. The ball was swung-in like a corner and Hanover just couldn't get enough on the ball to send it away. The ball fell right to the feet of a Hartford player, about 2 feet from goal, who smashed it in to halve the deficit. 2-1. Hanover knew that if they didn't put in the same effort from the first half, this game may turn into the previous, home fixture, a 3-3 draw. 

The young Bears were eager to display their abilities, however, and got right back on the front foot. Simon Taenzer was moved into a central position to distribute the ball to our flanks and on only his third pass of the half, managed to find Berkeley Chamberlain with a sweeping ball to the left flank. Chamberlain ran right passed his marker and found himself 1v1 with the goalkeeper. Berkeley's quick feet saw him skip past the keeper too, but he was tripped up for Hanover's third penalty of the season. Chamberlain, winning the right to the penalty by winning the kick, never looked worried. He gave the keeper the 'eyes' to the right and smashed the ball left, leaving the keeper rooted to his spot in the middle of the goal. Cracking finish for 3-1. 

Unfortunately, that was the last action of the game. The AD from Hartford rushed over to the loud speaker to signal to the crowd the game was over, thunderstorms were now rolling in. 

On to training Tuesday for the young bears!