Varsity Shocks Manchester Memorial in 7-0 Rout

 Still smarting from their loss to Bedford and a mediocre effort against Keene in a 3-1 "bounce back" win, Hanover shocked themselves Saturday night at Manchester Memorial, scoring early and often to win 7-0 in a match that was shortened by lightning.

The Bears entered the matchup with Memorial warily, fully aware that they had beaten Bedford. It would not take long to discover that Hanover had the right mindset to play Memorial right off the park, with six first-half goals.  The first of these was the most attractive, with senior defensive midfielder Ian Press crushing a left-footed volley from 25 meters in the fourth minute.  It set a perfect tone for the Bears, whose calm ball control at midfield gave them a one-sided edge in play. 

Andrew McGuire was being played through all night, and just missed a breakaway bid, rolling a shot just past the post. Hanover calmly reloaded time after time, and just before the 19-minute mark a foul in the Memorial box gave the Bears a penalty kick.  Zach Tracy calmly converted, and Hanover led 2-0.  Just two minutes later it was 3-0 and the rout was on. Tracy once again released McGuire with a precision pass, and McGuire finished clinically.  Ian Press targeted Ryder Hayes with a feed from the left side that the Hanover Captain converted at the bear post to make the lead 4-0 at 29:00.

Hanover allowed very few looks for Memorial, and none of their long-range shots threatened. Sam Ames and Charlie Forbush led a back four that consistently pressured the home side and won everything in the air.  Five minutes before halftime, a Zach Tracy pass into the box was turned into the net by a Memorial defender, and the "own goal" gave Hanover a 5-0 lead.  Amazingly, the Bears weren't done. Roan Palm made a great run into the Memorial box from the left side, and Carter Guerin popped up at the far post to convert the feed for a 6-0 lead, just prior to the halftime whistle.

The Bears were in a celebratory mood at halftime, but refocused enough so that they continued to press hard after halftime.  Both Tracy and McGuire had clean breakaways into the box, but Memorial goalkeeper Yousif Hikmet made two spectacular close-range saves.  Five minutes after the interval, Tracy once agains fed McGuire for a breakaway and his second goal of the night, and fourth of the season.  Tracy's fourth assist on the night gives him a team-leading five helpers to go with his five goals.

Both teams had been watching the skies since the start of the match, and shortly after Hanover's most recent goal the match was halted when game officials clearly saw lightning in the distance.  The mandatory 30-minute wait was triggered, and before it had elapsed there were many more sightings.  It soon became obvious that the best solution was to declare the match an official result.

The win gives Hanover a 4-1 record going into a week that will see them face Nashua North and Windham, both with identical 4-1 records.  The Bears saw both teams in the Final Four last year, beating Windham 3-0 before loving the South 2-0 in the title match.  Tuesday's match at Stellos Stadium has a 6:30 kickoff.  It should be an entertaining match.

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