Hanover High's first day of school was an effective day any the office for 96 students playing boys soccer. All four Marauder teams (Varsity, JV1, JV2, Freshman) had well-organized, enjoyable workouts. The three subvarsity teams all had great training sessions at The Pasture before the rains came. Joining them at Dresden were the Reserve girls, who will be making their home there.
The JV1 team, fresh off of their 7-0 victory over Lebanon on the hallowed Meriman-Branch turf the night before, had a brisk workout under Willie Johnson, celebrating his seventh year with the program. His boys looked sharp and effective, and were worthy of being the first soccer match played on the new turf.
The JV2s had their first session, run by Yosef Osheyack. We have a smaller, more talented and more dedicated roster this year. No more ragged groups of 30. Our 24-player roster includes four seniors who have already jumped into their leadership roles. We had 36 sophomores try out for soccer this year. Three made Varsity, a bunch are on the JV1 juggernaut, and the JV2s are thus loaded with a dozen sophs who would be on any other JV1 team in another year. The quality showed in a match against the highly-touted Freshmen, who were tuning up for their match on the turf against the Varsity girls later in the day. Coach Yoyo, who also stayed all day for Varsity training (in the pouring rain) has helped this preseason across all levels, as he continues to train for the November Pan American games.
The Freshmen were issued practice gear and tossed out against the upperclassmen, and held their own as they got used to their roles in preparation for taking on the defending State Champion Marauder girls. This team is so promising and so entertaining that I have seized them for myself. Efforts to dislodge me will be futile. Quality assistants are still welcomed, but I plan to be the Gaffer for this great crew of 23 first years.
The bus system worked flawlessly today. Two busses took four full teams from HHS at exactly the scheduled 2:50 pickup time. Training started a bit after three. (Coach Grabill was a bit long-winded welcoming all four teams to the Pasture and discussing expectations. We hope to start recycling soon. Anybody want to help with that? We have six teams using Dresden this fall. That's a lot of traffic. The return bus was also on time, getting players from all four teams back to the school, and allowing the freshmen to get to Megriman-Branch in time for their 5:00 match with Doug Kennedy's Varsity girls.
Playing on the new turf for their first official match as a team was a daunting task for the frosh, but they were equal to the task. The 23 members of the Class of 23 all had significant roles (even our one injured guy as we ground out a 1-0 win. This was a match that worked well for both teams. The Varsity Girls don't play until Sept. 7th, and they aren't allowed to play any more high school teams. The regular season for many teams starts Friday. So having a good in-house opponent is a plus for them, and it's certainly great for the Freshmen to play against such a well-organized, skillful and athletic group. I have coached a lot of these players in the Granite State Games and in summer soccer, and I am a huge fan. Still trying to figure out a pk shootout (I'm 0-3 in season-enders), I was pretty excited to watch them win the state title last fall. They are maybe a better team this year. We had a great scrimmage in the first time on the turf for both teams. The two-Jack formation up top for the frosh paid dividends early, as Jack Gardner's spinning baseline run was rewarded when Jack Stadheim bundled in his short pass for the only goal of the game. 22 players got playing time in each half, and every one of them got good touches. Owen Smith led a strong corps of defenders, who did a superb job against some very talented attacking players. Ty Nolon was flawless in goal. He made a number of quality saves, especially as the field was getting slick, and he ran the offense like a seasoned quarterback. Jack McGrath, Simon Taenzer and eight other hard-working midfielders did a wonderful job in keeping the ball on the floor and maintaining possession. All 22 players get credit for linking 5-6-7 passes and using every inch of the field. Holding strongly to a 1-0 lead as the second-half rains got harder, the frosh almost put the icing on the cake when Jack Gardner get behind the defense and put a cracking shot on goal that was parried over the bar. Interestingly, the match ended before the ensuing corner could be taken. Nevertheless, the two teams discovered that they are well-matched. We are hopeful that we can find a midweek rematch to help both teams get ready for the season ahead. The Freshmen certainly took a giant step forward as they prep for their Friday home opener at the Pasture against Manchester Memorial. 4:30 kickoff.
As the rain intensified, the boys Varsity took the field for their training session. Last night's 6-1 scrimmage win was a good first step, but practice was desultory. Nevertheless, some quick film study suggests that the Marauders are on schedule to open the season in a week against Exeter. Hanover scored some great goals, and against a perennially strong Lebanon defense that's an accomplishment.
Eric Ringer got things started in the third minute, ripping a ball from the top of the 18 after a nice run into shooting position. Charlie Adams doubled the lead 10 minutes later, and Hanover stayed in control until four minutes were left in the half, when Adams burst into pace and played a perfect pass to Amane Matsuoka on the left flank. Adams accelerated even harder into the box and Matsuoka's right-footed flick pass found Charlie for a clinician finish. Adams also dinged the crossbar on a 30 yard free kick before the half was over. Hanover did well in the second half. Latham Allison punished a mistake, two-touching a failed clearance just inside the 18 and nailing a nasty left-footed volley. Lebanon talisman Logan Falzarano pulled one back for the Raiders, but Hanover had the last word with a brace from senior Pat Osborn, a nice left-footer assisted by Jackson Lake and Charlie Adams and a header assisted by Tucker Monson.
JV1, JV2 and the Freshmen will all train at Dresden after school on Thursday, looking for a 3:45 bus.
The Freshman boys will stay at Dresden until 6:30, kicking off a scrimmage with a Lightning squad at 5:00. The Varsity trains on the turf from 6:30 - 8:00. They will have a short film session after school on Fridays and have the rest of the afternoon off. They will have a team picnic on Saturday, and resume training on the turf to prepare for Tuesday's season opener against Exeter.
We are grateful that many of you brought food items for the Haven Food Pantry. I delivered the food this morning, and was received so warmly by the volunteer who logged our modest but significant donation. He enjoyed the story that this is the way we charge admission for Hanover Soccer. Captains Kyle Doucette and Charlie Adams already have experience with food drives for the Haven, and are eager to make this a season-long practice. We have high hopes for a lot of donations next Tuesday at the Exeter Home Opener.
96 Hanover students played today. That's one-seventh of the entire student body. More than a quarter of the male student body has committed to playing soccer, and already invested a lot of time in a demanding preseason. Now we are ready to settle into the student body. A lot of these guys are serious students. Taking classes at Dartmouth this year serious. We have some wonderful musicians in the crew, instrumental and vocal. We have Council members, and leaders in a number of other endeavors. Playing soccer gives all 96 students the chance to play the world's most popular sport in great settings against school teams equally committed to an educational, developmental model, emphasizing sportsmanship and high quality play. Three of our four teams play in NHIAA Division One. All of the schools we play are much larger, with student bodies in the thousands. We love testing ourselves against strong competition.
That's all for Wednesday. Lots of good soccer ahead.
