HANOVER — The Hanover High field hockey team got its Halloween scare out of the way a few days early.
Shaking off rust as well as an upset-minded foe, the second-seeded Marauders rallied from a two-goal deficit and used Macy Curtis’ overtime penalty stroke to overcome No. 7 Goffstown, 3-2, on Monday in an NHIAA Division II quarterfinal at Merriman-Branch Field.
The Grizzlies (9-7-0) struck for two goals in the opening half only to have Hanover (12-1-1) surge through the second half and extra time for the comeback victory.
“This was our fourth game in three weeks; that’s not a lot,” Hanover coach Jean Essex noted. “We haven’t had a game in 10 days since we played our senior night on Oct. 18. Prior to that, we’d had six days off, then eight, then 10 between games. That’s not an ideal way to go into the playoffs.
“Trying to keep them focused and ready to go was a challenge, but they didn’t panic. It just took a while for them to get connected.”
Hanover began the rally 6:36 into the second half with Anna Stafford putting home a Miranda Galbraith pass in a goalmouth scramble. Curtis blasted home a Stafford penalty corner pass with 4:49 left in regulation to tie the contest at 2-2 and force a 10-minute overtime.
Curtis ended it at 3:03 of OT after a Goffstown defender stopped a would-be Hanover shot on the goal line with her foot. That produced a penalty stroke, which Curtis calmly deposited into the Goffstown net for the win.
The Grizzlies’ quick start — they had the 2-0 lead barely 17 minutes into the contest — led Essex to move forward Kate Blaisdell back to midfield, which helped kick off Hanover’s rally. Curtis, goalie Ella Edmonds (three saves) and defensive midfielder Katie Naughton, Hanover’s captains, stood out for keeping the Marauders calm in the face of Goffstown’s challenge.
“You can’t discount the leadership of our captains,” Essex said. “They’ve seen this before. They’ve all been down this road. They didn’t lose their composure.”
Hanover, which owned a 20-3 advantage in corners on Goffstown, will meet No. 6 Merrimack Valley in a Halloween semifinal at Exeter High.
The Marauders posted a 3-1 win over the Pride in Penacook, N.H., on Sept. 21.
HANOVER — Dartmouoth’s Drew Estrada won his second Ivy League player of the week award on Monday, this time capturing special teams recognition. Estrada broke a 52-year-old school record with 142 return yards in Friday’s 59-24 rout of Columbia. That included an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter of the victory.
Estrada took the league’s weekly offensive player of the year award two weeks ago.