The Marauders should have known that it would be a tough afternoon when they walked across the Keene High field prior to their game on Friday. Many had been on that same pitch a year earlier, and recalled a lush, smooth, emerald-green pitch. But as they made their way to their bench, they trudged through large patches of dead grass, loosely scattered on stretches of dusty dirt. Now, playing on a second-rate field didn't cause Hanover to lose 1-0 on a sudden-death goal in the second overtime. There were plenty of concrete reasons for the Marauder loss to a confident, senior-stacked team that was unbeaten at home. But it was nevertheless symbolic of the afternoon. The field, the fans, and other variables that cannot be commented upon in a blog of this high journalistic caliber, all made for a dreary day at the office.
Both Hanover and Keene walked away from a scoreless first half figuring that they should have scored. A Blackbird forward whiffed on a sure sitter at the far post, and Hanover knew they had dodged a bullet. It wasn't an isolated play. Keene outshot the Marauders 7-6 in the half, and forced Konrad Mitchell to make five saves. In six previous games, he'd made eight. Some of these were strong ones, too, played that forced him to come off his line and dive at the feet of the 'Bird attackers.He also made a sweet plan on a dangerous, swerving corner kick.
Hanover had their moments, too. Asa Berolzheimer had three cracks at the net, and none better than a free kick outside the 18 that he crashed off the crossbar. Nevertheless, it was scoreless at halftime, and it remained scoreless in the second half. The tide turned a bit, however, as the Marauder started turning up the heat, outshooting Keene 5-2. Luke Strohbehn, snooping near the far post after a corner kick, nearly missed hitting the goal we all know is coming. Jamie Dinulos started working his wizardry on the left side. Ian Caldwell made a classic Bucket run deep into the box, but came up empty.
Through all of this, Hanover kept their composure as the braying Keene fans insured that the school sportsmanship award would head elsewhere this year, the home team dove in late, and the guys in gold looked more like iron pyrite. Their reward: the prospect of playing up to 20 minutes of golden goal overtime as the sun set on the Scripture Field dustbowl. The Marauders wanted it more in the first extra time period. Keene talisman John Dupuis got one decent shot on Mitchell, but otherwise it was all Hanover. Andrew Kazal launched two long bombs from the left flank, and the second of these forced topnotch Blackbird keeper Evan Lagerberg to make a diving leap to tip the ball over the bar. On the ensuing corner kick, Ian Caldwell nearly headed home the goal we all know is coming.
The teams traded places for the second 10-minute overtime, and Hanover went back to work. The Marauders got two looks on free kicks but could not execute, and then it all went South. Keene got possession, and on a quick counterattack Nicholas Richter played Kylan Strong into space and on a breakaway. Strong took full advantage, drilling a shot into to corner for a goal that was the apotheosis of Keene, and perhaps the high water mark of their season.
Hanover took it hard, but stayed classy, even to the extent of offering their spare chocolate milk to their conquerors. It wasn't their happiest afternoon of the year, but there were no rips in the fabric of the team. Win only once in four games? First-world problem. The lads cranked the tunes on the bus and screeched into the night. You'd think so many SoarThroats could be more tuneful, but whatever.
It's a busy week for the Marauders, who travel to Manchester Memorial on Tuesday, and then return home the next day for a match with North (they beat Keene!). The finish the week on Friday with a road trip to Pinkerton Academy. At 5-3-1, Hanover's hoping for some points by the time they cash in their four-day weekend.
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