The Hanover Marauders added a new chapter to their illustrious history with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Bedford in the NHIAA Division II Championship game Sunday Night. The win was the sixth consecutive one for Hanover, and the 17th overall. Ben Harris and Eric Jayne scored crucial second half goals for the Marauders, with Jayne's game-winner breaking a 1-1 tie with less than three minutes left in the match. It was his 50th career goal in the 50th year of Hanover soccer. Senior goalkeeper Stefan Dyroff was the man of the match for the Marauders, making several outlandish saves to keep his team in the game during many stretches when a young, talented Bedford team dominated the action. The Bulldogs outshot Hanover decisively in the first half, and only Dyroff's heroics kept the match scoreless.
Hanover ends the season with a record of 17-1. During their six-year stretch of state titles, they have lost a total of six games. No other large school team has even won more than three titles in a row. Hanover's total of 17 championships puts them fourth nationally in that category. They are in every respect the most successful program in New Hampshire history.
That said, it is important to separate this team and this season from that long and proud history. What this team has accomplished stands by itself, and is unique in many respects. With a 28-man roster, this edition of the Marauders was constantly called upon to deal with reduced playing time, and accept roles that asked them to consistently place the team's needs ahead of their own. This championship is truly owned by everyone on the roster. More immediately, the team's amazing depth played a role in the victory over Bedford. Eighteen players participated in the match, and it was hardly surprising that Hanover had the fresher legs at the end, when they finally took control of the game and created the critical goal.
The match started with Bedford firmly in control. The bulldogs, led by skilled forwards Erik Martel and Matt Cote, took the initiative and were a constant threat. Cote came closest, with a near miss just past the post, and only several star-studded saves by Dyroff kept Hanover from losing control of the match. Dyroff's best denial came on a quick deflection following a corner kick, and he ended the half with a total of five stops, as many as he had made in any single game this season, including the Lebanon semifinal. Hanover wasn't without their chances. Ben Harris whistled a free kick inches over the bar, and a few minutes later Joe Carey hit the shot of his life, a curling drive that barely missed the upper left corner.
Halftime was a valuable respite for the Marauders. With a little Gu in their guts and a chance to admire the amazing November sunset, thanks to Alex Dodds' insistence that they remain outdoors during the extended interval, Hanover rebooted and reminded themselves that they were a second half team. It didn't take long for them to prove the point, two minutes, to be exact. The long buildup to their first goal started with an innocuous and sensible backpass from Robin Smith to Stef Dyroff, who calmly snapped the ball across the box to Hayden Pressey-Murray, who relayed it to Trey Rebman, and so on, and so on. Trey played the ball to Eric Jayne in space, and Jayne relayed it back to Rebman, who took it to the baseline and hammered a cross into the box. Jayne and defender Mitchell Marchand jumped to vie for the ball, and it skipped into space in front of Bulldog goalie Taylor Wallace. Daniel Hazlett shocked Wallace with the quickness he employed to reach the ball first, and he was able to direct the ball to Forrest Pratt. The senior midfielder, saving his best game for the last one of his career, floated a cross back into the box and Ben Harris ran onto it like Stephen Gerrard, ripping a right-footer that shot off the bottom of the bar and into the net for 1-0 lead.
Bedford refused to wilt, and continued to play their disciplined. attacking football, using every inch of the field and every player on the park. Thirteen minutes later they did the nearly unthinkable and tied the match. Matt Barth and Robin Smith, who were towers of strength throughout the match, and played like the All-Staters they deserve to be, shared a brief moment of madness, and it cost Hanover the lead. Sullivan Holt played a routine ball straight to Smith, who let it clatter off his shins and into space. Barth stepped up to play the ball, but before he could get it Matt Cote swept in front of him, swept the ball away, and ran free to his left. Smith rallied to stay with him, but Cote would not be denied and closed on Dyroff, beating him short side with an absolute rip. (Sorry to be so detailed and unsparing. That's what happens when your blogger gets a game film immediately after the match. Besides, that was their only boo-boo of the night. Barth and Smith were otherwise absolutely lights out. True heroes. And this is an accurate blog. Usually.)
Now it was Hanover's turn to rally. They stayed calm initially, dodged a bullet when Dyroff came roaring off his line to deny Cote a second goal with a huge save on a semi-breakaway, and then got to work. Eric Jayne, whose hard work was mostly unrealized to this point, gave the team his best 20 minutes, creating all sorts of opportunities. Hanover had four corners in that stretch. The noose was tightening. Forrest Pratt was equally creative, sending Jayne in for a near breakaway with a deft chip over the top, and then zipping a throw-in down the line that let Jayne loose for a baseline run that sent the ball zipping across the goalmouth for a near miss.
Bedford had their bids against the run of this play. Martel hit a drive over the bar that was scary, even tough Dyroff had it covered all of the way. With three minutes to play, Martel blasted a shot off a quick turn, but he drove it straight into Dyroff's gut. That was Bedford's last gasp. Jayne grabbed the ball at midfield and fed it to Hazlett in the left corner. The fearless freshman crushed a cross that missed connections with Jayne, but Pratt was positioned perfectly, and first-timed a ball into the box that found Jayne, who unerringly made the last goal of his amazing career his most significant, a first-timer inside the right post. It was his sixth goal of the postseason, with at least one in each game, and two game winners. Seventeen on the season, and 35 in two years. He should be a high school All-American. You heard it here first.
The final 2.5 minutes were anything but perfunctory, what with Harris' gushing bloody nose, Roland Herrmann-Stanzel's timely clear, and the Marauders' collective cool. Soon the final whistle trilled three times, and it was time for the now-familiar pigpile in the shadow of the scoreboard. Hanover's getting to like games at SNHU.
Many of the game's heroes haven't been named yet herein. That's the risk of sports journalism written with an impending deadline. Happily, there is a long stretch of postseason to sort out all off the stakeholders who own a piece of this victory. At some point, a musty photo will surface of the 2003 Lightning U11 team, and bunch of eager 10 year olds playing eight-a-side for a crabby coach who even then had days when he felt too old for it all. Five of them were nothing less than the spine of Hanover's title team: Eric Jayne, Joe Carey, Ben Harris, Matt Barth and Stefan Dyroff. It's been a long haul for this fabulous five, and for the many cast members who joined them along the way. Their season-long leadership set the tone, and when they finally found an opponent gallant enough to truly make them earn their title, they were equal to the task. It's been a wonderful half-century for Hanover soccer. The start of the second half should be a lot of fun. Stay tuned!
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