Hanover
The Marauders began their defense of back-to-back NHIAA Division II championships with a 3-0 victory over Oyster River, then headed to the annual event.
“It’s really good team bonding,” said Mahler Meyerrose, Hanover’s senior goalie.
“We make food together, do s’mores and play games. Then we all sleep in a circle in the coach’s barn.”
Junior forward Carly Craft agreed with Meyerrose on the importance of camaraderie, something the players attempted to foster following Saturday’s win.
“The closer you become, the better you know your teammates and where they’re going to pass the ball,” Craft said. “We’re excited for each other whenever someone does something great.”
Craft provided early excitement for Hanover fans, notching a goal in the game’s second minute off a feed from Amelia Lubrano.
“I knew that if we pressed hard in the beginning, we could get an early one,” Craft said. “That’s a lot of what we like to do is press. We didn’t want to let down after our first goal. We continued our style of play.”
Oyster River, which fell to Hanover in the past two postseasons on penalty kicks, tightened up its defense, nursing a one-goal deficit until midway through the second half.
Hanover’s Clare Gardner extended her team’s lead off a feed from Sylvie Alexander. Freshman Pepper Joseph capped off the scoring five minutes later with an unassisted volley.
Each player on the Marauders’ roster saw time in the victory. Meyerrose normally the keeper, got a welcome chance to play the field against Oyster River.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Meyerrose said. “But once the season gets going, I think that will dim down and I won’t come out as much.”
Added Hanover coach Doug Kennedy: “It was an opportunity to get in our second goalie, Bella Bardales. And Mahler loves to play forward, so what the heck? … But yeah, it’s a treat.”
The hosts remained aggressive despite 85-degree temperatures.
“I’m glad we got it in early,” Kennedy said.
“The turf absorbs the sun and can get really bad by about 3 o’clock. We’ve literally had players get blisters.”
Although Saturday’s victory was solid, the Marauders seem to know it was a mere first step on a long road back to the state final.
“Obviously, ultimately I would like to go all the way,” Kennedy said. “If we grow and get better as a team as it goes along, could we be there in the end? We could. But right now I’m focused on the day-to-day.”
JJ Taube, one of three senior captains along with Alexander and Maddie Lyons, echoed her coach’s sentiments.
“We have a lot of things we can work on, but that’s expected,” she said. “We lost a really good senior up front (Kelly Brigham, nine goals in 2015), so it’s great that we’re already scoring. And I’m proud we got a shutout.”
Lubrano, who had nine goals and nine assists for last year’s Marauders, remains an offensive threat.
Hanover hopes to replicate its recent success, but knows the product on the field will be invariably different.
“It’s a new team coming off a good season,” Craft said. “We’re just as strong, but we’ll find our new stuff that we’re good at and continue to grow on that.”
Kennedy, at the helm for his ninth season with the Marauders, seems encouraged by the process of building potential champions once again.
“We’re working on getting them to know what the other two or three girls who play closest to them are going to do so they can react best,” he said on his way to the sleepover. “And creating space, that’s really our focus right now.”
Hanover continues its home stand Friday with a 4 p.m. game against Bow.