HANOVER OPENS WITH TWO WINS
The Hanover High Scool boys soccer team opened its Class I title defense with a pair of easy wins on the road. The Marauders defeated a young Bedford side 5-0 and then travelled to Conway last Saturday and picked up a 4-0 victory over Kennett.
The Bedford game pitted an experienced Hanover squad against a team composed entirely of sophomores and freshmen, and the result was never in doubt after goals by Seniors Eric Barthold and Casey Maue in the first seven minutes have the Marauders a 2-0 lead. Most of the starters were on the bench after the 25-minute mark, but center back Matt Wetherell took advantage of his presence with two first half scores, both assisted by junior midfielder Lou Gemunden. Wetherell headed home a Gemunden corner kick, and then volleyed home a long cross to give Hanover a 4-0 halftime advantage.
The second half lasted only twenty minutes after the lights at the new Bedford field went out and could not be turned back on, but with Hanover owning a 20-0 shot advantage, the result was a forgone conclusion. Freshman Eric Jayne took advantage of his playing time to notch his first career goal for the only score of the half, assisted by Oliver Horton, a first-year varsity player.
Ben Harwick and Sam Gest shared time the goal for the Marauders and got credit for the shutout.
Kennett offered a good deal more resistance, and it took Hanover most of the first half to gert on the scoreboard after a number of near misses. Senior Captain Angus Kennedy threaded a perfect through pass to classmate Aussie Cyrus, and the fleet midfielder converted a clean breakaway past Eagle goalie Sam Burroughs. Leading 1-0 with less than a minute to play in the half, the Marauders grabbed a second goal when they were awarded an indirect kick just inside the Kennett penalty area. Eric Barthold tapped the ball to Kennedy, whose well-delivered free kick eluded both the Eagle defensive wall and Burroughs for a 2-0 Hanover lead.
Hanover stepped up the pressure in the second half and doubled the lead thanks to Barthold and Junior striker Yosef Osheyack, who each assisated the other's goal. Barthold struck first, knocking in the rebound of a hard shot by Osheyack, who has worked free on the right side. Minutes later, Barthold hit a long cross from the far left-hand corner that cleared the reach of Burroughs and conencted with Osheyack at the far post for an easy header. Rhys Cyrus made one challenging save in the Hanover goal to earn his shutout.
The road will get rougher for Hanover in the next several games. After this Wednesday's home opener with Fall Mountain, the Marauders host a Saturday showdown with Milford, which has opened the season with a 3-0 record, outscoring their opponents 29-0 in the process. Perennial Class I contender Con-Val visits next Tuesday, and then Hanover travels to Oyster River a week from Saturday to help the oldest franchise in NH High School soccer celebrate the 50th year of the sport in the state.
