Hanover
Lebanon, which continues to rebuild its confidence under first-year coach Breck Taber, held the experienced Marauders to a scoreless first half before Hanover broke things open in the second en route to a 3-0 victory at Merriman-Branch Field.
“We figured out the method,” Taber said. “We talked about it at halftime and, in the second half, we just had a couple of lapses. We didn’t mark. We let them go down. … We let the open Hanover girl (in the box) happen.”
Senior captain Ruby Spitz, junior defender Mindy Wu and freshman Riley Craft scored for the Marauders, all coming off of second-half mistakes by Lebanon’s back line. Spitz broke through minutes into the half, finishing off a shot that bounced off Lebanon goalkeeper Kassidee Rogers.
That opened the floodgates. In the 73rd minute, Wu finished off a scramble on the Lebanon goal line after a corner kick, a sequence that involved a shot off of Rogers and the crossbar before finding the back of the net.
Craft added the insurance goal late, a rare lapse by Rogers coming out of her net to clear a breakaway that landed on Craft’s feet. The freshman forward scored into an empty net.
“Early on, I thought we were moving well we just didn’t score,” Kennedy said. “We weren’t running as hard. We weren’t moving as hard as we need to do in order to be successful. We stalled in the first half.”
The Raiders’ loss snapped a three-game winning streak over the last two weeks, helping Lebanon match its three victories from a year ago. And while Taber has seen growth in his group this season, the grace period in which teams learn what to expect from new coaches and vice versa has not worn off yet.
“As far as playing to feet, not just kicking the ball, they’re becoming a better skill team and they know it,” Taber said. “It’s still a young group. They know they’re getting better, which is good to see. Now it’s just about putting the practice to the game.”
Taber still thinks his team can learn a lot from its defensive performance in the first half, even if the offense was not given a chance to get going.
“We were patient,” he said. “We knew what they were trying to do. Instead of chasing the ball, we were letting them make that pass. We were really filling up those passing lanes.”
For Kennedy, Hanover’s success is a carryover from last year’s championship season. But the signs of offensive frustration began to show through at halftime, with last Friday’s tough 1-0 loss to undefeated John Stark still in his team’s mind. Kennedy was happy with the way his team responded.
“I certainly felt like we were in good shape in respect to the game,” he said. “But when you’re playing well and you seem like you have the ability to do it, you want to get some reward for what you’re doing.
“You want to come back, you want to get back on track,” he added. “Even though it was a 1-0 game (last week against John Stark), it was a really close game. It was a good game. It sort of knocks you for a loop. So you kind of feel like, ‘OK, let’s get our rhythm back.’ ”
Hanover launched 19 shots on Rogers, who was credited with 16 saves. The Marauders, after losing nine seniors to graduation in the off season, jumped to 7-3.
“I think we can contend if we play well,” Kennedy said. “I’ve also been around long enough to know it’s very hard to get all the way through; even if you are good, it doesn’t always happen for you. It’s been among the most fun teams I’ve worked with. It’s fun to be out there in practice.
“In all the years I’ve done this, I think I’ve only finished first once. But we’ve won championships three times. … The playoffs are definitely a second season where a whole new level of intensity comes up.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.