Marauders Beat Plymouth 7-0 For 7th Win in a Row

Hanover's two-day road trip to the Lakes Region ended successfully on a cold Thursday afternoon with a well-played 7-0 decision against Plymouth that increased the Marauders' win streak to seven and solidified their grip on first place in the NHIAA standings. Ben Harris paced the attack with two goals in a match that was characterized by superb second-half play from literally every backup player.

Four players were honored with their first varsity start, and justified the responsibility that they had earned. Ross Johnston and Forrest Pratt helped Hanover dominate the midfield right away, and Jonathan Fenton and Isaiah Fariel created havoc up front. Fenton got the game's first goal at 18:28, jumping on a loose ball near the baseline and hammering home a bad-angle shot inside the near post for his second goal of the season. Hayden Pressey-Murray collected his second goal in as many games ten minutes later, converting a centering pass from Joe Carey to make the lead a comfortable 2-0.

Ben Harris quickly doubled the lead at the start of the second half, scoring twice in a 40-second span two minutes after the interval. Nate Hanna sent him in on goal with a brilliant through pass for his 10th assist of the year, and lass than a minute later Forrest Pratt gave Harris a great centering pass for his 8th goal of the season.

Never has "garbage time" been more of a misnomer for the remainder of the second half. The game may have been decided, but the quality of play that ensued was nothing less than tournament level. Much to their credit, the Plymouth starters kept battling, but they were outmatched by the intelligent, accurate and mature play of the Hanover bench. Chris Tecca and Robin Smith controlled the middle of the defense, and Tecca got forward twice for bids on goal.
Smith demonstrated both athleticism and sound technique both in the air and on the floor. Charlie Umland, channeling for Nate Hanna at left back, got forward with veteran poise. Connor Bentivoglio, left out of the Valley News story by an editor and not by his coach, supported a withering attack on the right flank by Sam Farnham and Isaiah Fariel. Fariel collected the fifth goal of the game and his third of the season on a sublime through ball by Farnham, racing past the defense and pinging his shot off the far post.

Adam Kline-Schoder was equally adept at on the left flank, and combined with Roland Herrman-Stanzel and Brendan Barth to orchestrate a deft short passing attack that put constant pressure on the Plymouth goal. Barth started the sequence that led to the fifth goal, setting up Fariel for a dangerous shot that .was saved by Matt Abear in the Plymouth goal but not controlled. Sophomore striker Pedro Celaya jumped on the rebound and knocked home his first varsity goal. Minutes later, Celaya showed off his significantly improved sophistication with a nice assist on a give and go play with Herrman-Stanzel, who took the return pass from Pedro and came in clean, knocking his shot off the upright for his first goal of the season.

Having flaunted their depth, the Marauders will regroup over the weekend and gear up for their final regular season game of the weekend, a road trip to a dangerous John Stark team on Tuesday. Hanover may host a scrimmage next Friday for a tournament tuneup, and then will await word as to the identity of their first-round NHIAA opponent. The opening game of the tournament will be on Thursday, October 29th, hopefully at 6:00 p.m. The senior players and their parents will be honored at halftime of that game.

All Marauder players are encouraged to join the HHS volleyball team and their supporters tomorrow at 2:00 in the HHS gym for the games against Fall Mountain and the "Dig Pink" benefit to support the Side Out Foundation and breast cancer research. All supporters are asked to wear pink, and Coach Grabill will have a supply of pink t-shirts available at today's 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. practice at Huntley.