The Marauders hit a big bump in the road on a sweltering afternoon in Londonderry, conceding an early goal and chasing the game unsuccessfully in a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of a well-prepared and hungry Lancer squad. The host team lead 3-0 at halftime and upped their lead to 5-0 on two gift goals in the second half before Asa Berolzheimer's late tally provided some consolation on a forgettable afternoon.
Hanover was prepared for strong opposition, but got off to a bad start when Londonderry star Nate Gaw found room to settle the ball 30 meters away and chipped the ball over Connor Edson and into the goal for a 1-0 lead. Having conceded a similar goal a week ago in Concord, the Marauders knew that they were capable of rallying, but 14 minutes into the match Londonderry doubled the lead when midfielder Owen Creed outjumped his defender on the end of a long throw into the box and looped a header into the far side of the net.
The rout was on 14 minutes later when the ubiquitous Gaw showed exceptional speed and skill on the right side, racing past two defenders and finding time to slip a shot into the net for a 3-0 lead. It was not a total disaster for Hanover at that point. They avoided the trap of showing anger or frustration or pointing fingers. They stayed together as a team, on the field and on the bench. They worked hard at getting back into the game, and came close on a couple of changes. Jonah Levine had a shot cleared off the line from a corner kick. Sam Strohbehn, Jamie Dinulos, Jake Acker and Seth Stadheim all got good looks at goal. The Marauders didn't fall apart, but Londonderr was good enough to keep them off the board.
The second half showed no less resolve from the Hanover lads, but their spirits were dampened further when two nearly-identical costly giveaways in their end resulted in easy goals for the Lancers.
Hanover got solid work from then bench, with Robbie Murdza showing particularly well, and before the half was done every field player saw some action. Jack Pattison made a nice overlapping run and served a great ball into the box, but the Marauders just missed converting it. The starters were not about to quit, either. Jonah Levine came oh so close with a header on the end of a corner kick. Finally, with less than two minutes to play, Murdza showed excellent touch in penetrating the defense, receiving the ball, and sending Asa Berolzheimer in alone. Asa flipped the ball into the right side netting for his fifth goal of the season. It may have been too little, too late, but it was a big goal.
Breaking the shutout was a nice way for Hanover to demonstrate that they were never willing to quit.
"We got licked today, but we'll be back," commented Coach Grabill. As long as we stay together as a team, we'll find the time to work on correcting mistakes, and striving to improve. We got beaten pretty badly the last time we came down here, and somehow ended up playing in the Championship game by the end of the season. It would be a huge mistake for anyone to count this team out. We'll lick our wounds and learn from what happened to us. We'll be ready the next time we kick off".
Hanover won't have to wait too long, fortunately. They host Nashua South on Friday at 4:00 at Merriman-Branch Field. The Marauders suffered a disappointing loss to the Purple Panthers last year, and will be eager to get back in the win column. Couldn't happen to a better opponent.
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