Freshmen Beat Concord 7-0; Back on the Road Friday

The road-weary Freshmen, virtual strangers to their 7th period teachers, demonstrated nevertheless that playing away games is no big deal, blowing open a close game early in the second half and defeating Concord 7-0.  The Marauders led 2-0 at halftime and then scored three times in the first seven minutes after the interval, pulling away for good.  Hanover's team defense was good enough for their third shutout in five games, improving their record on the young season to 4-1.

Hanover and Concord battled evenly through the first fifteen minutes, but the Marauders scored an emphatic first goal to establish a lead they never relinquished.  Elias Zinman struck a great free kick to the far post and connected with Bauti Gallino, who volleyed it into the goal. Zinman created a killer goal just before the half, giving Hanover a 2-0 advantage when his driven corner kick glanced off a defender and into the net for an own goal.

The Marauders took the initiative early in the second half.  Zinman was in the middle of the action again, taking a hard shot that was saved but not controlled.  Christo Dragnev pounded the reboind home at the 2:18 mark, and it was 3-0.  Exactly a minute later Zinman collected his fourth consecutive assist when the played the ball to Liam Collins on the left flank.  Collins drove hard in to the wide open space his good positional play had created, and buried a short range goal to give Hanover a 4-0 lead.  Collins collected his second goal of the game four minutes later, heading home a cross from Bauti Gallino.

Will Laycock opened his account at the 14:12 mark, smashing home a rebound from a shot by Nicolas Mayo-Pushee.  Most of the players paused after the shot, anticipating a call, but Laycock
intelligently kept going, and collected his first score of the season.  Caleb Benjamin finished the scoring with his first goal of the season, converting a penalty kick after he was hauled down in the box.

Hans Williams had an easy time of it in goal, making one save to register his third clean sheet of the season.  The back eight of Wittmann, Fenner, Purcell, Rightmire, Li, Plottner, Alibozek and Blackbur, formed an impenetrable wall in front of the Hanover goal, and few shots saw their way through.

There will be no rest for the weary class of '19, as they board another post-6th period school bus on Friday and head for the Queen City to engage the Crusaders of Manchester Memorial High School on the St. Anthony field near the school.