Bears Surge Into First Place, Beating Londonderry 4-1

 Hanover faced their most challenging game in several weeks and passed with flying colors, beating a strong Londonderry team 4-1 in front of a large home crowd.  In the process, the Bears leapfrogged over Pinkerton, 2-1 losers to Windham, and took over sole possession of first place in Division One.  It was Hanover's 9th win in a row, and their 11-1 record is tops.

The Bears were not at full strength entering the game, missing starters Sam Ames and Ian Press, both key cogs in the back third.  But Hanover's deep bench was more than equal to the task, and the Bears played their best soccer of the season with the help of Schuyler Clapp, Sean Smith and Roan Palm each playing significant roles.

Hanover was fully prepared for a back and forth battle with the Lancers, but the Bears took the initiative right from the start, and not even five minutes had elapsed before Zach Tracy had a typical Tracy goal, taking a pass from Andrew McGuire before slithering through the Londonderry defense and giving the Bears a 1-0 lead.  Hanover kept kept pushing.  A hard shot from Sean Smith on the right flank forced a good save from Lancer goalie Jason Reilly.  Andrew McGuire nearly headed home a Smith corner kick, and then his a testing shot that was parried by Reilly.

Midway though the half, the Bears doubled the lead when Palm made a great run to the outside on the left flank (ahem, Hanover wings always cutting inside.  Yes, you.), beat his defender to the line, and drove a cross that was converted by McGuire for his 9th goal of the year.

Hanover's defense wasn't tested often, but it was more than ready when called upon.  One one such occasion with ten minutes left in the half,  Sam Calderwood and Wyatt Seeling converged to block a break by Jackson Lewis.  Shortly afterwards, Schuyler Clapp covered perfectly when Brett McKinnon broke in on the right, gliding across the goal mouth to make a decisive tackle.

Aware that their half-time lead was solid by also precarious, Hanover went right to work in the second half.  Sean Smith nearly connected with a corner kick at the far post in the first minute after the interval,  and six minutes later Reilly made a miraculous save when Andrew McGuire broke in alone on goal. Less than nine minutes into the half, Zach Tracy scored the critical third goal, once again combining with McGuire before performing his usual magic in the box and creating his 15th goal of the season.  No Hanover player has scored that many goals since Charlie Adams was doing his thing in the 2019 championship season.

Hanover kept coming.  Will Guerin's hard shot was saved three minutes later, and then Andrew McGuire missed a sitter that was subsequently called offsides.  Londonderry pushed back, and seemed certain to score when McKinnon penetrated deep into the box, only to have Schuyler Clapp make a spectacular block on his shot.  Hanover came close once again when Tracy missed a close range shot at the far post on a corner, and then McGuire, who led the team with 9 shots, got behind the defense again.  With less than 10 minutes to play, Henry Werner got his first minutes after sitting out for three weeks with a broken collarbone, and almost earned a breakaway.

Londonderry, to their great credit, kept pushing, and after Wyatt Seelig made an easy save on a long free kick by Aidan Board, the Lancers took advantage of a scramble outside the box, and Jacob Nussdorf his a tremendous volley on goal.  Seelig made a first-class diving save, but he couldn't control the rebound, and Connor Jackson was there to ram the ball home with less than five minutes to play.  Hanover calmly responded, and only a minute later Tracy once again parted the waters in the Lancer box, and then passed up a sure goal to square the ball to Werner for his second goal of the season. It was the prefect response to losing the cherished clean sheet.

The Bears responded to the challenge of playing well when they needed to, and as a result they gained momentum toward their goal of improving with every outing.  They now have nearly a week to recover and prepare for a visit by longtime rival Manchester Central.  The Little Green are 7-4, a relatively down season for Hanover's most longstanding foe. Over the past decade, Central and Hanover stand over all other D1 schools. It's a good challenge at the prefect time.