Departure time for the Jamboree at Keene is about seven hours away as these words flash by on my laptop, but it's important to chronicle every step in this special season, even if only briefly. The Hanover Varsity and Junior Varsity working groups stepped onto the turf at Merriman-Branch Field for the first time against out-of-town opposition, and put together solid efforts against our very familiar friends from Lebanon. The Raiders and Marauders have spent the entire summer playing each other. They played five matches during summer league regular season play, faced off in the league playoffs, with the Marauders sweeping the two semifinals, and already have a post-season scrimmage in the books. Many of the players have played with each other for years on various Lightning teams. In this case, familiarity bred the exact opposite of contempt. Both games were well-played and fiercely contested. Oh, and they managed to do this without referees. This is harder than it sounds, and it is a great reflection of the maturity and commitment of the players.
The most significant event of the evening? No question about that. In his first game at the helm of the Hanover Junior Varsity, Yosef Oshayack, not yet confirmed as the JV mentor but the leader in the clubhouse, steered his charges to an efficient, satisfying 2-1 victory over Lebanon. We'll give Yosef a full, proper introduction when his appointment is official, but it's clear that this longstanding member of the Marauder soccer family is the right man for the job. A 2009 graduate of Hanover, Yo-Yo (yeah, that's his nickname. His friends call him "Yo". Honest.) was a standout for the undefeated (19-0-1) 2008 Class I Championship team, scoring the winning goal in the title game in double overtime. He was First Team All-State, named to the Lions Twin State Team, and has been a member of the U.S. National Deaf Soccer Team. A 2015 graduate of Castleton State College, he has a pretty impressive coaching resume, including several years on the Dartmouth Academy staff. So, Yo knows. In less that a week he has helped guide team selection, learned his lads well enough to singlehandedly organize a satisfying win over a longtime rival, and served notice that the JV program is on good hands. Decent first week.
The second half of the doubleheader wasn't half bad. The Marauders scored twice in each half, flaunted their depth, skill and conditioning, and beat an outstanding Lebanon team 4-1. Trust us, the Lebanon team will be one of the top squads in Division II. On this evening, though, Hanover had a nice edge in play, taking 2-0 lead on goals by Jamie Dinulos and Jake Acker before the Raiders pulled one back with an excellent finish by Graham Chickering, orchestrated by Bennett Newlove.
The second half featured some superb play by the younger Hanover players. Seth Stadheim scored twice, heading home one of them on a sweet serve from Will "Ironman" Smith. Center back Sam Pych, liberated from his defensive responsibilities, was a force of nature marauding into the heart of the Lebanon defense. More where this came from, perhaps.
Stay tuned soon for highlights from all of Saturday's action. Also, taking a peek further ahead, be ready for our call for assistance for Monday night's postgame potluck dinner at the high school. We'll be feeding the Hanover and Oyster River teams and also our British friends from Royal Grammar School, who check into Hanover that afternoon. We're asking the Varsity families and RGS host families to pitch in thusly: A through F bring main dishes, G though P bring salads and sides, and Q through Z bring desserts and drinks. As is usually the case with Hanover soccer events, Monday night will be chaotic, fun, vaguely educational and rated G. On we go!
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