Bears Take Care of Business, Beat Merrimack 5-0

 Hanover registered a workmanlike 5-0 victory over Merrimack on Tuesday, taking control off the match early and wining their sixth game in a row, running their record to 8-1 on the season. The Bears remained in second place in the Division One standings, half a game behind front-running Pinkerton Academy.

It didn't take long for Hanover to take the lead.  Less than two minutes had elapsed when Andrew McGuire did a tightrope walk on the baseline the right of the goal, shedding two defenders before squaring the ball to Will Guerin at the far post.  Guerin played the ball back to the right post, and Zach Tracy was there to pop the ball into the net for his 10th goal of the season.

Even though the Bears were missing three starters, they were able to maintain a firm grip on the game, keeping the ball on the floor and building patiently.  Sean Smith continued his superb play on the right flank, Schuyler Clapp was strong at center back, and Joseph Rudd played particularly well at right back,  making a number of smart defensive headers in the early going and smartly advancing the ball.

Midway through the half, Ryder Hayes doubled the lead with a highlight goal, crushing a shot from well beyond the top of the penalty area that caromed off the inside of the left post, bounced hard off the inside of the right post, and dented the top of the net under the bar. It was the Hanover Captain's fifth goal of the season. The Bears had several more good looks, with Merrimack goalkeeper Drew Flanders making a nice close-range save on a Veer Patel shot, and Zach Tracy barely missing a header off of a Will Guerin free kick.

Although the game was not a masterpiece, it seemed as though every time the Bears needed a goal they got one.  With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Roan Palm pounced on the rebound of a Will Guerin shot and rammed it home for his long-awaited first Varsity goal. Hanover took a comfortable 3-0 lead at halftime.

The Bears ironed out a few kinks after the interval, and tilted the field even more steeply toward the Merrimack goal.  Will Guerin had another free kick at the edge of the box and hit a low shot toward the far post that forced Flanders to make a diving save.  Sean Smith broke onto the box on the right side a few minutes later, and his Gard shot was turned aside by Flanders. Two minutes after that, Sam Amens came as close as he has all season to the elusive goal on a corner kick header, only to have his offering denied by Flanders. 

Finally, 63 minutes into the match, the Bears increased their lead on an incredibly unselfish play by Zach Tracy, who slithered into the goal and faced an open net, only to give up the sure goal and slide the ball to Veer Patel, who easily converted for his third goal in the past two games.  Tracy's generous play is the sort of mortar that glues teams together.

The Bears kept a firm grip on the match, with a number of good looks.  Alejandro Esparza Soto got loose on the right side of the penalty area and hit a shot off the upright that was so hard it actually set off three car alarms in the nearby parking lot, and awakened two small children at a nearby day care center. Ian Press had a few excellent looks from the top of the box, and Schuyler Clapp had a near miss following a corner kick.  Roan Palm had the last word offensively, and collected his second goal of the afternoon on a nice assist from Tracy, who now is tied with Carter Guerin for the team lead in assists with seven.  Wyatt Seelig had the final good play of the day, roaring off his line to clear a ball 15 yards beyond the penalty area.  The official , who could magically make offsides calls 20 yards behind the play, was so impressed by Seelig's dope move that he ended the match several minutes early.

Hanover now turns its attention to a challenging game on Friday night.  The Bears will travel to Goffstown to take on the Grizzlies under the lights at their shiny new turf field.  Goffstown is vastly improved, as they demonstrated with their one-goal loss to Bedford last week.  These are the challenging games that make a season entertaining, and it will require the Bears to play well for a full 80 minutes. By now, they are capable of making this happen.