JV1 Beats Londonderry 3-1, Finishes 14-1-1, Claims D1 Title

Boarding the bus for the trip to Londonderry, the JV1 team were handed the news that the culminating event of their season, the State JV Tournament in Nashua on Sunday, had been cancelled because of anticipated rain.  The Marauders knew that their toughest foe in the tournament would be undefeated Londonderry, interestingly placed with Hanover in group play.  There was a chance that the Marauders might play the Lancers (known to drop a Varsity player or two into the lineup) three times, with the final one for all the marbles.  With the tournament cancelled, the team quickly see-focused on the Friday game in front of them, and everyone agreed that this would be the dee facto state title game.  With everything on the line and 15-0-0 Londonderry waiting for them on their home field, Hanover played their best game of the year and beat the Lancers 3-1.  The Marauders are the 2019 State Champions.

The game started well for Hanover, who took a 1-0 lead after four minutes on a goal by Isak Larusson.  The Marauders almost doubled the lead two minutes later when Eric Tysinger almost headed in a cross from Larusson,  Hanover continued to have an edge in play, but the tall, athletic Londonderry squad threatened a number of times.  Marauder goalie CJ Wheelan made a good save on  a shot from the top of the penalty area, and the Lancers nearly connected on a corner kick, as the ensuing shot looped just wide of the right post.  With eight minutes to play in the half, the Lancers tweed the game, knifing through the middle with some nice combination play.

Hanover had a great look early in the second half on an attempt by Mitch Aspinwall off the back post. Eight minutes later, the Marauders thought they had earned a penalty kick when Oscar was cleaned out by the goalkeeper, but the call never came.  Then it was Londonderry's turn to come close.  In the 53rd minute, Wheelan was in the right place at the right time to save a header off of a corner kick.

With 20 minutes to play, Zane Schiffman scored the eventual game winner, connecting with a cross from Derek Lacy for a 2-1 lead.  Londonderry nearly re-tied the match in the 68th minute when a 30 yard shot clanged off the crossbar, but Hanover got the last word with two minutes to play, when Larusson collected his second score of the day on a funky side-foot pass from Thomas Glass.

Hanover's defense, led by Tom Lyons and Palmer Okai, was superb all afternoon, and Wheelan had his best game of the season in goal. It was in every sense a total team victory, with everyone on the squad playing significant minutes and demonstrating good communication and two-way play.  Congratulations to Coach Willie Johnson and the Boyz for a superb championship season!