Hanover-Souhegan Summary

HANOVER BOYS OPEN THE SEASON WITH A SPLASH

The Hanover High boys soccer team opened its Class I title defense on a high note, overcoming both the elements and a strong Souhegan team with a 1-0 overtime victory Saturday night. Playing in a steady downpour for the entire match, two of the semifinalists from last fall’s Class I Tournament nevertheless managed to play postseason-quality soccer. After 80 minutes of scoreless soccer, the match was decided seven minutes into the first sudden-death overtime when Marauder Captain Ben Rimmer fed freshman Isiah Fariel for a breakaway goal.

Hanover overcame injuries to two defensive stalwarts and did a good job limiting the hosts to four shots on goal while racking up 21 of their own, including several near misses in the second half by Kevin Dade and Dan Remillard and a shot ticketed for the corner by Trevor Barlowe that was denied by a brilliant save from Saber goalkeeper Kyle Robertson.

Souhegan came into the match with a 2-0 record which included an impressive road win against perennial Class I contender Con-Val, while Hanover was playing its first match of the year. The Marauders lost senior starting goalkeeper Rhys Cyrus to a hand injury during warm-ups, and were further challenged when junior center back Gunnar Shaw had to leave the game with a mild knee sprain twenty minutes into the match. Junior Sam Gest took over in the goal and did an outstanding job, recording his third career shutout. Sophomore Joe Carey took over for Shaw and did an outstanding job in his first varsity game, consistently winning balls and clearing with confidence.

The Marauders took control of the game early in the first half, largely because of quality play from their all-senior midfield of Co-Captains Trevor Barlowe and Ben Rimmer, returning All-Stater Yosef Osheyack, and Swedish foreign exchange student Oscar Eriksson. Barlowe stepped into the holding midfield spot anchored last year by All New England choice Angus Kennedy, and Eriksson continued his excellent transition to American high school soccer, taking a leadership role offensively. Rimmer, second on last year’s title team in assists, picked up where he left off and was a threat all evening on the right flank, leading the team in shots before turning playmaker on the winning goal. Osheyack, who spent three weeks this summer playing for the U.S. National Deaf Team in the Deaf World Cup in Greece, was a dominant two-way player on the left side, and further strengthened the argument that he is one of the stat’s top high school players.

Hanover’s first-half edge in play turned into an even larger advantage in the second half, but Souhegan’s typically stingy defense held firm despite a 9-1 Marauder shot advantage and a 4-1 margin in corner kicks.
Heading into the first overtime, Hanover Rob Grabill elected to rest senior starting strikers Kevin Dade and Henry Caldwell, and inserted sophomore shotmaker Eric Jayne and freshman Isaiah Fariel, who had led his summer soccer team with a league-high 25 goals. Despite a career playing time total of six minutes, Fariel was as calm as a varsity veteran when Rimmer threaded a through ball to him, sidestepping the Saber keeper after outracing him to the ball, and calmly slotting home the game winner before being buried on the now-sodden Souhegan turf by a pigpile of equally soggy teammates.

“This was a nice way to open the season,” commented Coach Rob Grabill. “We still have a lot of players who are adjusting to new positions or new responsibilities, and we showed a lot of character in overcoming some adversity tonight. Beating a quality team like Souhegan is a nice achievement any time, but it’s twice as rewarding under these circumstances. This is a real confidence boost for us, and should help us continue to develop into the sort of team we want to be.”

The Marauders open their home season on Friday with a 4:00 match against Bow in a rematch of last year’s Class I Championship final. Hanover won its third straight title with a 1-0 victory over the Falcons, who will visit Merriman-Branch field with revenge on their minds. “We’ll be working hard to be ready,” said Grabill. “This should be a hard-fought and entertaining game”.