The Marauders celebrated Senior Night in fine fashion on Tuesday, exploding for four second-half goals to put away Nashua North by a 5-0 score. Hanover is now 12-2 on the season and sits solidly in second place in NHIAA Division One with two regular season games remaining.
The Marauders started 11 seniors, and spent most of the first half camped in the Nashua North end of Merriman-Branch Field. After six minutes of patient ball control, Hanover took a 1-0 lead when David Stoffel took the ball and penetrated into the North penalty area, dishing the ball to Eli Stack, who eluded two defenders and drove a hard left-footed shot into the back of the next from close range. It was his sixth goal of the season, and fourth in the last six games. Stoffel collected his first assist of the season.
The remainder of the first half saw the Marauders do everything but score, outshooting the Titans by a 17-1 margin. Blake Palmer hit the post at the nine-minute mark, and Stack almost doubled the score at 14 minutes, pushing a shot just wide of the left post. Three minutes later, a wild flurry saw Amane Matsuoka hit a hard shot that was saved, with Stack collecting the ball and crashing it off the crossbar. The rebound came to Charlie Adams, who whistled a shot over the bar. So it went throughout the half. Although Hanover wasn't able to find the back of the net. they exhausted the North defenders, particularly as a number of subs rolled off the Marauder bench, including Henry Aspinwall, who had two dangerous shots in the closing minutes.
The Marauders stayed focused after halftime, and took a 2-0 lead after seven minutes. Charlie Adams slid a pass to Blake Palmer on the left side of the box, and the senior winger ripped a hard left-footer into the far side netting. for his seventh goal of the season. Ten minutes later, Adams was tripped in the penalty area and converted the ensuing spot kick for a 3-0 Marauder lead. Hanover's fourth goal was highlight reel quality. Matsuoka collected the ball on the right flank and then cut into the penalty area, finding Adams with a deft pass. Adams eluded a defender with a move reminiscent of Maradona and patiently waited for an opening to slot his 18th goal of the season.
Nashua North kept competing, and over the course of the half managed half a dozen shots, all of them from the edge of the penalty area and beyond. Andrew Enelow, who started the second half in goal, made all of the routine saves look routine, and shared the shutout with Joey Perras. All of Hanover's defenders played well, with Senior Noah Pikielny standing out with his two-way play.
The final Marauder goal was another piece of work, echoing the earlier Matsuoka/Adams production.
Jackson Lake took the ball near the top of the North penalty area, and spun free with a nifty move, sliding the ball to Stoffel, who calmly eluded a defender and slotting the ball home for his third goal in three games.
All 17 senior players on the Varsity roster were honored at halftime, and all saw significant playing time. JV2 callups Henry Bernard and Archer Judd were also slotted for some last-minute action, but the official with five minutes of time on his wrist decided that 3 1/2 minutes were enough, and left them twisting in the wind on the sidelines. Lucky for Nashua North, and devastating for Judd's vocal supporters. The Marauders will have little time to bask in their victory, returning to action Wednesday with a trip to Pinkerton Academy
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