Lebanon Summary

HANOVER BEATS LEBANON 3-1 TO SWEEP SEASON SERIES

The Hanover High boys soccer team finished a five-game road trip Saturday with a well-played 3-1 victory over Lebanon, running their record to 13-0-1 and extending their two-year unbeaten streak to 41. Eric Jayne celebrated his return to the lineup with two first-half goals, and the Marauders manifested superb team defense to sweep the season series with the Raiders. Kevin Dade added a goal and an assist, and Ben Rimmer added two assists to increase his team-high total to ten.

The match lived up to the advance billing as a playoff preview in every respect. It was hard-fought and passionate without being chippy, played before a full house at Lebanon’s Homecoming that continued the gratifying new neighborhood tradition of collecting hundreds of pounds for local charities, in this instance the LISTEN Center.

As is typical for a derby between two resolute defenses, it took a while for the battle to be fully joined, although Hanover’s first-half shot margin of 14-3 accurately reflected the edge in play. Kevin Dade threatened twice with hard shots on goal that were well handled by Lebanon goalie Matt Hutchins, and Eric Jayne presaged his later heroics with a long-range rip that tested Hutchins. Yosef Osheyack was buzzing around the goal and came close on several occasions, and then the Marauders broke through when Ben Rimmer broke around Raider defender Alex Lang on the baseline and hit a hard cross to Jayne, breaking into the box. Sandwiched by two defenders, the sophomore sharpshooter nevertheless managed to deflect the ball past Hutchins for his fifth goal of the season and first since a cracked rib had sidelined him for six games.

Sensing a chance for a decisive second goal, the Marauders pressed harder in the final five minutes of the half and nearly came up with their second score when Lou Gemunden hit a scorching shot from well outside the penalty area that zeroed in on Hutchins, who blocked it with his body but could not control the rebound. Oscar Eriksson was first to the loose ball and stabbed it toward the goal, but his slow roller was scooped off the line by Lebanon defender Dillon McCarthy. Eriksson lofted two good chances over the bar, and it appeared that Lebanon would escape the half down only a goal. With less than a minute left, however, Kevin Dade wiggled free on the right side of the goal and lofted a cross that carried over a leaping Hutchins and found Jayne at the far post, where his unerring close-range header found pay dirt for a 2-0 lead. There was a lot of soccer yet to play, but Lebanon had been pushed to the brink of the precipice.

Hanover took the field in the second half staring into a searing setting sun, but they were equal to the task of handling Lebanon’s best offerings and began probing for more goals. Trevor Barlowe, playing his first full match since returning from his knee injury, was a dominating force at midfield, and his running mates Osheyack and Rimmer were equally impressive on the flanks. Jimmy Kane replaced Hutchins in the Lebanon net, and made two nice saves off his line on Rimmer and Jayne. With 17 minutes to play, he was unable to get a handle on an offensive thrust that originated on the right flank with Gemunden and then Rimmer getting the ball on goal before Dade poked the ball home for his seventh goal of the season.

Rhys Cyrus wasn’t completely untested in the Hanover end, and he flashed his superlative shot-stopping skills on a drive from Nick Morse that was correctly judged to be offsides. Nearing the ten-minute mark he was unable to stop a similarly offside offering from Stephen Brockway, camped on the goal line, and Lebanon had pulled a goal back. The Raiders had one more great opportunity, denied by Cyrus with Hanover’s best save of the season, and then the Marauders removed all doubt about the outcome with a near-clinic in the final five minutes, highlighted by a Maradona-like rush into the Lebanon end by Osheyack. Hanover calmly played their opponents off the park in the dying minutes, and savored the 3-1 result at the final whistle.

The Marauders will eagerly return home this week for a pair of playoff previews, the first Tuesday night against a 12-1-1 Laconia team full of hope, and the second Thursday against Merrimack Valley, eager to atone for an 8-0 defeat a year ago when they visited for an NHIAA quarterfinal match. The Laconia match kicks off Tuesday at 6:30. Admission is an item of non-perishable food. Be sure to get there early for a good vantage point. The terraces could be packed for this one.