Varsity Strikes Early and Often to Beat Nashua North

Eager to avenge last year's 1-0 loss to Nashua North, the Bears scored six seconds into the match and controlled the entire match, earning a wire-to-wire 5-0 victory overt the Titans. Hanover has scored 12 goals in their first two matches, but were equally pleased to earn their first clean sheet of the season.

Aware, that North had scored two early goals in the win against Dover, the Bears were on their toes from the very start. The Titans played the ball back on the kickoff, and then quickly made two more back passes. Before they knew what had hit them, Carter Guerin stole the ball deep in the North end, passed across the face of the goal, and Zach Tracy had an easy tap-in with six seconds elapsed on the Stellos Stadium clock.

The game didn't get any easier for the Titans.  With eight players pressing into the attacking third, Hanover patiently worked the ball around and threatened constantly.  Ryder Hays hit a testing shot at the three minute mark, and six minutes later the pressure resulted in a handball in the box.  Hayes stepped up to take the spot kick, but North goalkeeper Tyler Byrne dove to his left and made a good save to keep the margin at one. Fourteen minutes into the match, the Bears doubled the led.  Carter Guerin continued his good work on the right flank, and got loose near the end line, crossing the ball into the box.  Andrew McGuire timed his run perfectly and flicked a near post header into the back off the next to break his soul-sucking scoreless streak. 

North was able to counter a few times, and Bear center back Sam Ames mad two good plays to stifle the Titans.  Striker Jonathan Lopez made a dangerous run into the box, by Ames came sweeping across and tackled the ball out of bounds.  First-rate coverage!  On an ensuing corner kick, one of four the Titans earned in the half, Ames rose high inside the six-yard box to head away a dangerous driven cross.

As the half wore on, Hanover subbed in several, spots and maintained their decisive edge in play.  Ben Woods made a nice feed to Roan Palm over the top. Henry Werner got loose for a good header that forced Byrne to make a nice save.  The Titan keeper then made a strong save on a shot by Woods from the left flank.  Inside the last five minutes, some sloppy passing in their own penalty area by the Bear defenders gave North a great look, but Efe Ogagan, who had scored against Dover, could only chip the ball over the bar.

Hanover regrouped at the half, and created an even bigger territorial edge.  Andrew McGuire had a dangerous shot right after the kickoff, and Ryder Hayes had his shot saved on the tail end of a Bear free kick. The Titans had only one dangerous counterattack in the entire half, but a challenging through ball was intercepted by Hanover goalie Wyatt Seelig, who raced off his line and beat striker Sevantian Arango to the ball.  It was a dope keeper play, and certainly made Seelig's eventual clean sheet a well-deserved one.

Midway through the half, Hanover put the game on ice with two quick goals, both highlight reel strikes. Nashua was getting sloppier with their tackles and fouling more, and the Bears made them pay.  A foul a the corner of the penalty area gave them a juicy free kick opportunity, and Ryder Hayes stepped up and struck a spectacular ball into the upper far corner to make the lead 3-0.  A minute later, the Bears erased all  doubt.  After 18 consecutive possession passes (yes, the staff was actually counting), Will Guerin slid the ball to McGuire, and the junior striker hit a worm-burner inside the far post from the top of the box.  The score was 4-0, and school was out.

Zach Tracy put icing on the cake in the 67th minute, taking a short cross from Charlie Forbush, a magician all day on the right flank, and hitting a bar-down blast from 21 yards out for the final 5-0 margin.  One of the early-season hallmarks of Hanover's play has been their ability to maintain a high level of play, even after subbing at every position.  The Bears kept North from any semblance of an attack, and maintained the pressure in the Titan end right up to the final whistle.  The final shot total of 29-5 was an accurate metric of Hanover's dominance.

With back-to-back wins over Concord and Nashua North, both teams that had beaten them last year, the Bears now turn their attention to a Friday home match with Bedford, one of the clear preseason favorites in NHIAA Division One.  The 6:00 showdown at Merriman-Branch Field will be the toughest test so far for a Bear squad focused on getting a little better each time they gather.  So far, so good.