Marauders Beat Kearsarge 3-0; Now 8-1-1

Seeking to put distance between themselves and a pack of Class I pursuers, Hanover registered a definitive 3-0 victory over a very capable Kearsarge team Tuesday night at Merriman-Branch Field. Eric Jayne and Ben Harris scored each scored in the early going, giving the Marauders more than enough of a lead to work with. From there, the relentless Hanover team defense stifled the Cougars until Gunnar Shaw's header midway through the second half sealed the win. In winning their fourth straight match, the Marauders pushed their record to 8-1-1 and solidified their hold on second place in the NHIAA standings. When the Heal Point standings are published later today, they will show a widening gap between penthouse dwellers St. Thomas and Hanover, and the remainder of the elite teams in Class I, including Souhegan, Coe-Brown, Lebanon and the ever-dangerous Oyster River. Kearsarge will drop back into that pack, and Hanover will focus on maintaining their pressure on St. Thomas, who dropped a point Tuesday with their 4-4 draw against Hollis, their second deadlock of the season.

Kearsarge entered Tuesday's contest with a seven-game unbeaten string and high ambitions. It took less than four minutes for the Marauders to knock the wind out of their sails. Matt Barth, exploring the parameters of his attack role on the right flank, lifted a high cross into the Kearsarge box that was mishandled by Cougar keeper Brett Bascom. Eric Jayne was there to pick up the pieces, controlling the ball and flipping it into the upper right corner for his 11th goal of the campaign.

Eight minutes later, Hanover doubled the lead when Nate Hanna played a sweet ball over the Kearsarge defense and into the space provided by their sweeper. Ben Harris continued a great run from right to left and controlled the ball at the top of the box long enough to launch a now-patented left footer on target. Bascom got a hand on the ball but was unable to push it over the bar, and it settled into the far corner for Harris' six goal of the season (and sixth in the last six game). The lad is hot. The assist was Hanna's seventh of the season and 12th of his career, threatening to vault him into the upper echelon of Marauder playmakers. Like Lou Gemunden last year, he's feeling it at just the right time of year.

The Hanover defense was preventing Kearsarge from getting much started, thanks in particular to the relentless work of center midfielders Aaron Segura and Joe Carey, whose ball-winning and physicality dominated the middle. Carey briefly shed his brooding, Galdalf-like warrior countenance long enough to make a nice run into the Kearsarge penalty area and author a telling shot to the right corner that was denied by Bascom. The back four of Barth, Dan Remillard, Gunnar Shaw and Nate Hanna were impenetrable, limiting Kearsarge to one tentative shot in the half, combining superior air power with great positional sense.

Hanover's territorial advantage remained in force throughout the second half, and their continued pressure paid off in the 58th minute when a flurry after a Marauder corner kick resulted in a cross from Trey Rebman to the unerring head of Gunnar Shaw, who nodded home his third goal of the year for an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Not surprisingly, the quality of play continued even after every starting player on offense took the rest of the night off. Jonathan Fenton and Isaiah Fariel continued their great work up front, not only with their increasingly sophisticated offense, but also with effective pressure from behind on the Kearsarge defense, exemplifying the precept that all eleven men on a great team are strong defenders.

Roland Hermann-Stanzel played strongly at center midfield, winning a number of balls and working free from a left-footer from the top of the box that was kept out of the lower left corner only by one of Bascom's best saves of the night. Hayden Pressey-Murray made one of the best setups of the evening, laying a beautifully timed ball into the path of a streaking Hanna, whose centering pass barely missed connecting in front of the goal.

Stefan Dyroff was fairly busy in goal in the second half, a testament to the fighting spirit of a Kearsarge team that kept working hard. Dyroff handled several challenging shots, and made one particularly good save on a well-taken free kick from the edge of the box. His third shutout of the season was well-deserved.

The Marauders will play their last home game of the regular season on Saturday, hosting a capable Bow team at 3:00 p.m. (be sure to note the time change!). They will combine with the Hanover girls' team with a final food drive on behalf of the Haven, and hope that the Homecoming crowd will be generous with their donations of non-perishable food items. Tuesday's game gave the team the chance to collect a nice cache of supplies for the Upper Valley Humane Society.