Hanover hit a high point in the early season with a signature 4-0 win against Coe-Brown, last year's opponent in the NHIAA Championship game. The Marauders broke open a tight and well-played contest with a second half score by Eric Jayne, and then added three goals in the final five minutes to put the game away and improve their record to 4-0.
The score is not indicative of how close and well-played the match was. Coe-Brown, easily one of the top two teams in Class I last season, had shown this season that they have re-loaded, with impressive wins against Oyster River and St. Thomas. The Bears were ready to battle toe-to-toe with Hanover, the the first half reflected this.
Game conditions were perfect, and the quality of play matched Coe-Brown's impeccable pitch, and the beautiful early Autumn weather. The first good scoring chance of the game fell to Eric Jayne, but his shot was easily handled by Bear goalkeeper Jake Carr. Most of the action remained at midfield, where Joe Carey and Ben Harris had to deal with more pressure that they had felt all season. Trey Rebman was particularly effective on the left flank, creating a number of opportunities that just fell short.
Coe-Brown's veteran attackers demonstrated the patience and skill to mount several good thrusts into the Hanover end, and late in the half Marauder keeper Stefan Dyroff was forced to make an excellent save on a low drive from the right side by striker Doug Marshall. Hanover countered with a golden chance when freshman Daniel Hazlett, fresh off the bench, got behind the Bear defense on a nice through ball but was denied by Carr at the top of the box.
Hanover turned up the heat in the second half, and had two near misses by Jayne and Pedro Celaya in the early going. Jayne was creating some good chances with his superb control in tight spaces, and twenty minutes into the half he broke the scoreless tie, taking a pass from Celaya, turning, and blasting the ball into the net for his fifth goal of the season. The best players come through when the stakes are the highest, and Jayne's goal may be remembered as a turning point of the season when this moment is recalled.
Inevitably, Coe-Brown responded with a lot of pressure, and the Hanover defense responded like champions. Matt Barth and Robin Smith had been huge in the middle of the back line, and they took their games to an even higher level, calmly tackling and dominating in the air. Hayden Pressey-Murray was rock-solid, sending ball after ball up the left touchline, and even getting in a bit of preseason basketball practice late in the game with some ball handling drills. Connor Bentivoglio had a couple of critical tackles, and Evan Greenwald gave the Marauders some valuable minutes in relief. Dyroff handled a number of ball flawlessly, and his second straight shutout was well-earned.
As Coe-Brown pushed forward, it was predictable that the Marauders would find space with which to counterattack. Jayne worked free in the Coe-Brown box and beat Carr cleanly, earning a look at an open goal, only to see his shot drift wide. With five minutes to go, though, he was back in business, earning a opportunity for a seemingly sure goal, only to dish the ball across the face of the goal to a wide-open Celaya, who rammed the ball home for a 2-0 lead. Barely a minute later, Jayne sent a through ball to a flying Celaya,and Pedro did some real magic, tightroping past two defenders before collecting his second score of the day, and fourth of the season.
Coe-Brown had two final cracks at the Hanover goal, but Kenny Bell's shot sailed high over the goal,and a free kick from close range glanced off the Marauder defensive wall and dribbled out for a subsequently harmless corner kick.
Trey Rebman and Pressey-Murray orchestrated one final trip into the Coe-Brown end of the field, and with less than a minute to play a ball that was launched into the Bears' box resulted in an own goal and the final, unbelievable margin of 4-0.
"We'll enjoy this win for what it was, and then get right back to work," commented Coach Rob Grabill. "We know that there is a lot of work left for us, and a lot of room for improvement. I'm really happy with the progress that we have made with our team defense, but there are several areas that we can tighten up."
Hanover returns to action Thursday with a home game against Plymouth at 4:30 in the cozy confines of Merriman-Branch field.
No comments:
Post a Comment