Bears Open Playoffs by Beating Winnacunnet 5-1; On To Semifinals

 Hanover opened the second season with a convincing 5-1 win over a determined Winnacunnet team in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd Friday evening. Now 15-2, the top-seeded Bears advance to the NHIAA Division One semifinals Monday night at 6:15 at Stellos Stadium in Nashua.  They will face longtime adversary Manchester Central, who beat them 2-0 several weeks ago.

The Bears had to work hard for everything against Winnacunnet, who had a well-earned reputation as one of the hardest-working, well-coached team in Division One. Most of the early minutes of the game were a back and forth contest at midfield, and Winnacunnet actually had the first shot on goal, a hard shot by Nate Kelly that was well-handled by Wyatt Seelig in the Bear goal.  Hanover's first scoring chance was a harbinger of things to come, as Sam Ames connected with a corner kick and got his header on goal, saved by Warrior goalkeeper Tyler Blank.

Suddenly, 12 minutes into the match, Hanover scored! Carter Guerin, probably one of the two best wingers in the state, got possession on the right flank and drove deep into the corner, launching a driven cross that soared across the face of the goal and tucked into the far upper side netting.  It was a thunderbolt out of nowhere, and it served to inspire the Bears, who hoped the tempo of their attacking play.

Midway though the half, Zach Tracy sent Andrew McGuire in alone, only to have Blank dash off his line and make a daring dive to get to the ball first. Two minutes later, Blank pushed a looping header by Tracy over the bar. Three minutes after that, Noah Winchester flashed into the box and volleyed a sweet Sean Smith cross just over the bar.  Meanwhile, the Hanover back line was doing a superb job denying Winnacunnet any time and space.  They never came close to creating a dangerous chance.

The Hanover attack continued as the half wound down.With 12 minutes left, Blank once again made a daring dive to get to a Smith cross just ahead of McGuire. Six minutes later, Tracy penetrated deep into the box and hammered a short side shot that Blank deflected over the bar. With less than two minutes left to play, Hanover scored a coup de grace.  Sam Ames crushed a header off of a corner kick that was saved by Blank, but continued his run into the goal mouth and bundled the rebound into the goal for his third tally of the year.  After a season of refining their corner kick mojo, the Bears are now a threat every time they take one.

Hanover was determined to start the second half strongly, and they did just that. Only three minutes after the interval, they launched a three-shot fusillade that deserved to be on ESPN's Top Ten Plays.  Tracy once again his a dangerous shot that was saved, Charlie Forbush pounced on the rebound and his shot was saved, and the ball fell to McGuire, who shot just wide. Less than seven minutes into the second half, Hanover created a goal that left no doubt.  Carter Guerin had a magical run down the right side and lasered a low, hard cross through the box, and there was Will, probably one of the best two wingers in the state, with a cheeky finish for a 3-0 lead.  It was Will's tenth goal, giving the Bears three in double figures.  It was Carter's 20th assist, tying him with Charlie Adams for the single season assist record.

Lest there be any doubt as to the outcome, less than two minutes later there was a hand ball in the Winnacunnet box and Zach Tracy stepped to the spot and hammered home his spot kick so hard that it hit the goal support and came back out of the goal faster than it went it.  It was his 22nd goal of the season, leaving him one goal behind Mark Turco (1986) and Charlie Adams (2019) for the second-highest total in a season.

With a 4-0 lead, Hanover was able to sub a bit, and the hard-working Warriors were able to muster a few sorties into the Hanover end.  Wyatt Seelig showed how truly adept he is at timing runs off his line to win a 50-50 ball, and did just that to deny a scoring big.  Hanover surged back on the attack, and Sean Smith continued his superb work on the flank, earning a second penalty.  Just like Tracy, Smith has been taking quite a few penalties in training these days, and it showed.  He slotted his spot kick home at 57:43, and Hanover led 5-0.  Still Winnacunnet kept working, and Seelig made a nice save on a long, hard shot by Owen Janetos with another Warrior parked right on his doorstep.

The waning moments of the game had some nice cameos by Gavin Munson, Alejandro Esparza Soto and Henry Werner, and also included Winnacunnet's consolation prize, a penalty kick goal by Janetos.  Losing the clean sheet was only an afterthought, though, given the one-sided nature of Hanover's victory.

Now the Bears head to the semifinals at Stellos. Both the venue and the opponent are very, very familiar. Hanover has already played three matches the season on the careworn turf in Nashua. They also played there three times in 2021, and one of those was an epic penalty kick shootout with Central that propelled them into the finals.   Central also dealt Hanover a 2-0 defeat at Merriman Branch just three weeks ago. The Bears felt then that they could have played better.  Now they get a chance with everything on the line. It's eveything a well-prepared, confident, high-scoring team could hope for. Their fate is right in their own hands.  Monday can't come soon enough.