HANOVER BLANKS HOLLIS, MOVES INTO FIRST
The Hanover High boys capitalized on two early goals and superb defense from the back four to defeat Hollis-Brookline 2-0 and move into the NHIAA Class I penthouse with a 9-0-1 record. Bow’s loss to Oyster River Friday night opened the door for the Marauders, who responded with a Homecoming win to stretch their scoreless streak to ten games.
Hollis came into the game with wins against Souhegan, St. Thomas and Lebanon on their resume, and showed no signs of being intimidated by their hosts. Five minutes into the match, Cavalier midfielder Riley Rogers found some room in the Hanover box and hit the crossbar with his shot. Riley’s brother Ryan was first to the rebound, but
Ben Harwick smothered his shot to quell the threat.
Properly chastened, the Marauders went to work and produced two goals within 30 seconds to take the lead.
Eric Barthold gave Hanover a 1-0 lead at the 9:22 mark, lashing home the rebound of a
Yosef Osheyack shot that came as the culmination of a long cross from the right flank from
Lou Gemunden. Hollis kicked off but barely touched the ball. Ceding possession right back to the Marauders.
Angus Kennedy worked loose at the top of the penalty area for a searing shot on goal that Cavalier goalkeeper Sean Hamilton slowed, but was unable to stop. As the ball seeped past him,
Osheyack swooped in and got the final touch for his ninth goal of the season and a 2-0 Hanover advantage.
Hanover’s lead might as well have been 22 goals the way the back four of
Matt Wetherell,
Cal Felicetti,
Sam, Peterson and
Trevor Barlowe were playing. They kept their shape magnificently, cleared crisply and accurately, and prevented Hollis from getting even a look at goal. The stifling Marauder defense was enhanced by the dominating midfield presence of
Kennedy and
Aussie Cyrus, who pressured well, won dozens of balls between them, and adroitly switched fields to help the home team maintain a huge margin in possession in playing time.
In the meantime Hanover held onto their two-goal advantage in the best way possible, patiently probing for a third score.
Matt Wetherell headed wide on a
Barthold corner kick before the first half was history, and several second half attempts came even closer, notably a
Ben Rimmer volley from another
Barthold serve that was saved magnificently
by Hamilton in the Hollis goal.
Henry Caldwell also came close but was denied by the daring Hamilton, and
Eric Jayne missed connections on a tasty opportunity in a goal-mouth scramble.
Hanover held a 9-1 advantage in shots in the second half, although the one Hollis bid was a dangerous-looking strike by Riley Rogers that
Ben Harwick read well and handled professionally in the waning minutes of the game to put the cap on the Marauders’ tenth straight shutout.
Hanover’s successful homestand winds down Wednesday when the Marauders play host to Stevens at 4:00 p.m., a prelude to next Saturday’s showdown with Saint Thomas, lurking just behind Hanover in third place. “We’ll worry about St. Thomas when the time comes,” cautioned Coach Grabill. “For now, Stevens is our most important game, and they will have our full attention. We played well today, but there are plenty of aspects of our game that we can improve. We’ll be working hard to get better.”
