JV2 Beats Cardigan, Loses to Lebanon JVs.

Hanover 6 – Cardigan 0

 

The Hanover JV2 Boys laced up on the Merriman-Branch Turf Field Saturday afternoon for one of the more memorable days of the season thus far. Cardigan Mountain School, led by Bucket’s former Hanover Coach, Rob Edson, arrived right on time in their classic green kits with a white sash. Hanover, dressed in their red kits, had been looking forward to this day since the schedule was first released. Oh, how it was worth the wait.

 

The match kicked off in Hanover’s favor and would remain that way for large periods of the first half. Anchored by Senior Stalwart, Liam Worden, in the central midfield, Hanover did well to move the ball from flank to flank, looking for any weaknesses in an ever-organized Edson defense. It took several good tries on net before Theo Joseph found a ball from Berkeley Chamberlain on top of the box. Theo took one touch to get the ball out of his feet and slotted it low into the left side of the net for Hanover’s first of the night.

 

The midfield dominance continued as Cardigan worked hard to keep Hanover out of their defensive third. The next few chances would also fall Hanover’s way. Berkeley Chamberlain, a hub of activity all day, played a nice pass into Simon in the midfield. Taenzer collected the ball with his first touch and used his second to send an inch-perfect through ball into Soren Stettenheim who used his pace to wriggle-by two defenders before finding himself 1-on-1 with Cardigan’s keeper. Soren did his Soren thing and slotted the ball low into the right side of the net for Hanover’s second of the match. 

 

The third goal came from even more pressure in the midfield, this time by Wynne Bushell. Wynne, using his lethal right foot, found Nate Solberg streaking down the right flank and fed a ball wonderfully into his path. Nate took one touch to settle himself before blasting a shot over the keeper and into the back of the net for Hanover’s third of the night. Play then restarted but Cardigan couldn’t stop the Hanover press and a hard-but-fair tackle from Blake Bouchard allowed Liam Worden time on the ball. Liam played a teasing ball into Soren, but the Senior Forward couldn’t quite take it with him this time and that would be the first half over.

 

The second half started with some really nice possession play from Cardigan’s midfield. Quick one-two passes were enough to keep Hanover off the ball for now, but as soon as they sprung into our defensive third, Senior Wyatt Sklarin was always there to clean things up and get us started on the counter. 

 

Our fourth goal of the night came off the hard work of Patrick Donegan on the right-hand side who managed to sneak the ball up to Soren. Soren took a touch, found Donegan on the return, and Donegan found an inch of space in the far post to tuck the ball into, a lovely finish for 4-0. 

 

The Fifth goal came from, you guessed it, more defensive play from the Bears who quickly countered time and time again. Sophomore playmaker, Alejandro, picked up the ball behind Cardigan’s midfield and drove at their back four. A quick one-two with Soren Stettenheim gave Alejandro just enough space on the return to lash a volley into the bottom-left of the net for Hanover’s 5^th and one of our prettiest of the season.

 

Our sixth and final goal came again from Stettenheim’s hard work. Soren got the ball to his feet just outside of the box and wriggled his way passed the last defender before tucking the ball under the keeper and into the back of the net for 6-0. A deserved result from the Bears who have been coming into end-of-season form with even more matches to play.

 

 

Hanover 1 – Lebanon 3

 

Tuesday night at Dresden Fields saw Hanover take on their toughest opponent yet, Lebanon’s JV boys team. 

 

In an end-to-end thriller that saw some wonderful combination play from both teams, Hanover came off the field knowing they had worked their hardest but luck simply wasn’t on their side tonight.

 

The game began with some nice passing moves form the Bears. Senior Berkeley Chamberlain orchestrated our first chance and managed to sneak Nate Solberg in on goal a few times but Lebanon’s keeper did well to come off his line and make two tremendous saves. Lebanon looked dangerous themselves and found an opening about twenty minutes into the match. The Lebanon striker muscled two Hanover Defenders off the ball to go one-on-one with Goalkeeper Henry Steffen who was then judged to have unfairly taken the forward down. The ensuing penalty kick was placed perfectly into the bottom-left corner of the net and Lebanon took the lead. 1-0!

 

Hanover tried desperately to claw their way back into the game and almost did off chances form Gil Gorden, Wynne Bushell and Alex Brackett. From there, the game slowed down a bit as players began to feel the effort they were putting in. A miscommunication at the back saw Lebanon’s striker in on goal again and he passed the ball into an empty net for Lebanon’s second of the night. 

 

Hanover didn’t let their misfortune shut them down though and came out swinging in the second half. Midfield engine, John Scherer, found the ball at his feet from a good thirty yards out and decided to try his luck. A snapshot with his left cannoned into to air and well-over the outstretched hands of Lebanon’s goalkeeper. The ball fell perfectly into the top-left of the net and breathed life back into the Bears.

 

Ultimately, however, luck was not quite on our side tonight and the Bears couldn’t quite find an equalizer before Lebanon worked the ball smartly down the right-flank. From there, they snuck it into the box and were awarded their second penalty of the night after a coming-together of their forward and one of the Hanover defenders. The penalty taker stepped-up and smashed the ball home, putting the result beyond doubt. 3-1 to the Raiders, but a lovely display of effort and determination from the Hanover JV2 boys.