Facing a winless Keene squad on Friday at the Merriman-Branch turf, the Marauders avoided the pitfalls of selfish play and dropping to the level of the opposition, creating 80 minutes of crisp, effective soccer in a 5-0 victory. Hanover started knocking on the door right away, and took a 1-0 lead at the 6:23 mark when Asa Berolzheimer set up Sam Strohbehn for his 4th goal of the campaign.
The Marauders continued a steady assault and broke through again midway through the half when a typically effective Henry Kahl cross found Berolzheimer alone in front for his 8th goal of the season,
The Marauders had gone to the bench prior to that second score, but saw no diminished effectiveness when Kahl, Stadheim, Messersmith and Helble entered the contest. Jack Hazard had made his first start of the season, replacing Jonah Levine at holding center mid, and was very effective. Addison Wanner, who was also a starter, tallied his first career assist when Luke Messersmith crashed his cross home at 28:30. It was almost startling to note that this was Luke's first career goal, since he has been scoring in spectacular fashion in scrimmages and practice games. There will be more to come.
Although Hanover didn't score for the remainder of the half, they created some spectacular chances. Dan Healy's header looked like a sure goal inside the right goalpost, but Keene goalkeeper Blake Stockwell made a diving save to deny him, and a few minutes later authored an equally dazzling save to deny Henry Kahl his first career goal. Earlier, Berolzheimer had clanged a free kick off of the junction of the crossbar and the upright.
The Marauders continued their excellent short passing in close quarters at the start of the second half, and Seth Stadheim was the beneficiary in the 44th minute, knocking in his third goal of the season on Kahl's second assist of the afternoon. The great opportunities kept coming. Simon Kahn had one of his two shots cleared off the line. Sthadheim crashed a short-range shot off the crossbar, and luckless Dan Healy saw another sure goal saved by the acrobatic Stockwell.
The final Hanover score came in the 74th minute when one of a series of sweet crosses from Adam Pikelny was redirected into the net by Robbie Murdza for his second goal of the season. Tim Alibozek, working very hard for his next goal, characterized the unselfishness manifested by most of the Marauders when the passed up a great shooting opportunity to slip a square ball to Murdza.
Patrick Logan started the game in goal for Hanover and wasn't tested by any shots, although he used the opportunity to boom a number of long balls down the park when his teammates found him with back passes. Connor Edson took over in goal and had several saves, and two great plays when he was forced to come off his line and dive at the feet of an attacking forward. The shared shutout was the third of the year for the Marauders.
Hanover's win and several losses by some of the top-tier teams elevated them into fifth place in the NHIAA Division One standings, only one slot away from the cherished fourth spot that would guarantee them two home games in the playoffs. "Our destiny is squarely in our own hands," commented Coach Grabill. "If we take care of business the rest of the way, we will be in a position to achieve many of the goals which we set for ourselves."
Next up for Hanover is a home game with Manchester Memorial on Monday, followed by a Wednesday trip to Nashua for a game with Nashua North at Stellos Stadium. The week ends with a critical home match against defending Champion Pinkerton on Saturday morning at Merriman-Branch. "We need to take all of these games seriously," commented Grabill. "Pinkerton, for example, has a losing record, but they are a strong team and will be highly motivated. All of these teams deserve our respect."
No comments:
Post a Comment