The Marauders bounced back from a tough loss to Londonderry with an excellent two-way display of soccer on Friday, beating a capable Nashua South squad 4-1. Hanover outshot the visitors 26-6, scored twice in each half, and controlled the game from wire to wire. The Purple Panthers are not a top-tier team, but they have proven themselves capable of beating the big guys. They beat the Marauders 3-1 last year, and already have a victory over defending Division One champion Pinkerton this season.
Hanover was all over South right from the start. Asa Berolzheimer almost stuffed home a Will Smith cross in the first minute, and had two rapid-fire shots blocked in quick succession after a corner kick. The Marauders had six corners in the first half, and most of them were well-taken and dangerous. Jonah Levine was on his game in every way, launching a couple of dangerous shots from the edge of the penalty area and completely owning the air at midfield, keeping the Panthers from sustaining any sort of attack.
Even after they subbed midway through the half, the Marauders continued to be dangerous. Henry Kahl did a nice job with a lead pass to Seth Stadheim which resulted in a shot that forced a good save by South goalkeeper Christopher Jiminez. Luke Messersmith worked loose for a baseline cross from the left side and found Marcus Helble for a close-range shot.
Nashua South spent most of the first half bottled up in their own end, but with the match still scoreless they nearly snatched a lead against the run of play when dangerous striker Mauricio Acevedo got loose for a 15-yard drive that was stopped by a diving save from Patrick Logan, making his first start of the season in goal for the Marauders.
Hanover finally broke through in the 29th minute, taking a 1-0 lead when Sam Strohbehn crossed the ball to Asa Berolzheimer, who dodged a defender with a nice move and buried a close-range shot for his sixth goal of the season. He has now scored in every one of Hanover's games. Twenty-eight seconds later the Marauders scored again, Berolzheimer sent Jake Acker to the baseline, and Acker's "bangu" found Strohbehn alone in front for a 2-0 lead. Just like that, the game was on ice.
A week earlier, Hanover had established a 2-0 lead against Exeter, and despite controlling the second half decisively, they were never able to add to their lead. Against the Purple Panthers, Hanover put the pedal to the metal in the second half, scoring twice more and launching a pair of sensational shots that clanged off the metalwork. After Sam Strohbehn's long-range floater tattooed the crossbar in the early going, Jonah Levine opened his account with a sweet header , converting Berolzheimer's cross off of a short corner kick.
Ten minutes later, Nashua South briefly dampened the mood when the talented Acevedo found a crease in the Marauder defense at the top of the box and hit a great shot that found the corner of the goal, pulling the Panthers within two goals. Hanover redoubled their attack and did an excellent job putting the game away. After being fouled with a cheap shot which should have earned a yellow card, Berolzheimer replied with a screaming shot hard off the upright. With two minutes to play, Hanover's field general went one better, taking a ball to the right baseline and centering the ball to sophomore scoring sensation Seth Stadheim (he's not bad, but the alliteration was totally too tempting) who got his first goal of the season.
The Mauarders now enter a stretch of nearly two weeks without a game, and they are planning to take full advantage with noting less than a second preseason. Hanover will train hard with an emphasis on conditioning, work on tightening up their defense, and polish their restarts until they gleam. The highlight of the first week will come on Friday, when the Varsity and JV squads will combine for the annual NH vs VT match. JV Coach Yosef Osheyack will lead Vermont, and Coach Grabill will try to repeat his New Hampshire squad's lopsided victory of a year ago. Kickoff will be at 4:00 at the Pasture.
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