Freshmen Outscored by Cardigan 5-4; Thursday Game Postponed

The only match on the schedule for Wednesday was a home match for the Freshmen, who will undoubtedly be disappointed to have held 3-1 and 4-2 leads in the second half over the Cardigan Mountain School before coming out on the wrong end of a 5-4 decision.  Despite the loss, there were plenty of mitigating factors that will help the frosh take a lot of positives from the match.

Hanover started well, shaking off a staggered warmup to start off well.  After a stretch of back and forth play in which the talented Cardigan team showed plenty of firepower, Jack Gardner staked the Marauders to a 1-0 lead with a now-patented breakaway.  Cardigan responded with a lot of pressure, but rookie goalkeeper Cam Bonner did an excellent job coming off his line, snuffing out several Cougar scoring bids.

Hanover was playing Cardigan evenly, and got a good scoring bid when Gilbert Gordon hit a high shot over the.  Hanover was getting good midfield play from Jack Stadheim and Jack McGrath, the latter connecting well with teammates, eschewing hero ball.

Cardigan tied the score on a gift goal, when several Hanover clearing attempts failed, and an accidental hand ball gave the the Cougars a penalty kick. Ty Nolon reacted well, and got his hands on the well-taken spot kick, but it oozed into the net.  Jack Gardner got a few minutes at the end of the half, and gave Hanover the lead, scoring his second goal on a......wait for it..........breakaway.  The lead could have been larger, but the half ended after the Marauders had been awarded a corner kick.  Tells you everything you need to know.

Hanover's lead increased to 3-1 at the start of the second half, when a good play resulted in an own goal by Cardigan.  Gardner made a great pass across midfield to August Krawitt in the corner, and Augie drove a dangerous ball into the box. A clearing attempt by a Cougar defender spun into the net, and Hanover had a seemingly safe lead.

Cardigan pulled a goal back on a long free kick from midfield that gave a streaking forward an easy cutaway, but the Marauders responded with a nice passing play from Krawitt to Gardner to Stadheim, who buried the ball for a 4-2 lead.

The next 10 minutes were not Hanover's best, as they surrendered three goals and the lead.  A botched clearance, a goal that may well have been offside, and a poorly-defended corner kick resulted in a 5-4 disadvantage that could not be overcome.

Here's the thing:  The headline say "outscored", not "beaten".  Cardigan took what they were given, but they didn't exactly carve up the Hanover defense.  If the Marauders can learn from their missteps and continue to improve, the loss will have been worth it. That's particularly the case since there is a rematch down the road, at Cardigan, on their Parents' Weekend.  Circle the date.

Thursday's game with Concord has been postponed until Friday, Sept. 27, so the Marauders will go back to work with a 4:00 training session with Coach Chris Dawes.  They will have Homecoming Friday off, and are warmly invited to Saturday's Noon Varsity encounter with Portsmouth, heavily laden with non-perishable food items for The Haven.  Hear me, frosh?  Please bring food for a very good cause.