JV2 Opens the Season With a 1-1 Draw Against Hartford

 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 Sklarin rejected wave after wave of Hartford's momentum-building attack before finally a loose ball on the left flank found the feet of a Hartford forward who struck his shot low, hard, and to the near post just under the reach of Keeper Henry Steffen. 1-1

The Bears, looking to swing the game back in their favor went directly back on the offensive, forcing Hartford's defense to play towards their own goal and clear dangerous through balls from Berkeley Chamberlain and Liam Worden. Returning from a 1-year hiatus from the JV2 soccer team, Senior Soren Stettenheim took responsibility into his own hands and latched onto a delicious through ball from Alex Brackett. Soren beat Hartford's midfield line before terrorizing the defenders at the edge of the box, bursting through their last line and slotting a nice finish off the side of his right boot into the far corner of the net. 2-1 Bears.

Almost like clockwork, Hartford took this as a signal to rev-up their own attacks again. A dangerous cross from the right flank got caught between goal-keeper and defenders just as a Hartford forward poked at the ball to send it under Steffen in net and into the back of the net to equalize. Half-time, 2-2.

The second half began a bit more tame than the previous. Strong midfield play from Wynn Bushell, John Scherer, and Alex Brackett kept our defense much tighter and the three did a wonderful job of winning loose balls and servicing our wingers, Ian Solberg and Theo Joseph, the latter almost put Hanover in front but was stuffed at the goal-line by a wonder block from the Hartford left-back. As Hanover's 2nd Half dominance continued, Hartford began to sniff some chances of their own on the counter. Henry Steffen, a force coming off his line all day, did well to collect long-balls on several occasions, before one particularly dangerous ball from Hartford mixed-up our centerbacks enough for their forward to latch onto the ball before slotting it past a helpless Steffen to put Hartford in front for the first time in the match, 3-2 Hartford, 10 minutes to go. 

As the clock began to wind down, the Bears grew ever-more hungry for an equalizer. Berkeley Chamberlain was withdrawn from attacking midfield to be replaced by 6'7" fox-in-the-box striker, Gil Gordon. Gordon, using his size and athleticism well, was able to create just the right amount of chaos in Hartford's box, forcing them to stay and defend deep. This allowed our wingers to stretch the field and deliver cross after cross into the box. Finally, one of those crosses came good as Will Taylor delivered another beauty into the box. Soren got his foot to the ball first but was only able to roll it across the goal where the combination of Patrick Donegan and Berkeley Chamberlain were queued-up to slam the ball home. Chamberlain, getting the last touch on the ball to claim the goal, grabbed the ball from the back of the net and looked ready to get Hanover another lead with their little, remaining time, but just as Hartford kicked off again, the referee blew his whistle to sound the end of the match.

An absolutely wonderful match to start the season. There are things this team needs to improve on, but today's match also displayed how talented, hard-working, and determined this group is to prove their worth on the field this year. Looking forward now to Monday's match against Woodsville. Enjoy the Weekend!

- Coach Bucket

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