HANOVER — The Hanover High field hockey team is headed to the NHIAA Division II semifinals after blanking local rival Lebanon High, 5-0, in a Friday afternoon quarterfinal at Merriman-Branch Field.
The No. 3-seeded Bears cruised to the win over the No. 6-ranked Raiders with an efficient offensive performance in which multiple players got involved. Hanover’s goals, each from a different player, came on just nine shots on goal.
Senior Sophia Mancini led the Hanover offense with a goal and two assists, and senior Grace Healey had a goal and an assist. Senior Joia Collins, junior Emma Richardson and sophomore Anna Farrell each scored once, and senior Greta Mancini added two assists.
“I’m really pleased with how we came out today,” Hanover coach Mallory MacKenzie said. “We came out strong. Our passing looked incredible. We had great movement on and off the ball, and a lot of the stuff we practiced the past week has really been coming to light, especially in the game today.”
The Bears’ coach acknowledged some nerves heading into Friday’s contest, given the magnitude of a playoff game and the local opponent — but you wouldn’t have known it from Hanover’s play.
“Definitely some good butterflies, but they were confident, and you could tell they were calm, collected, playing the game that we know we can play,” MacKenzie said.
In a semifinal set for Tuesday, Hanover will face an opponent it hasn’t seen this season: Bow. The Falcons were the D-II runners-up last season, have lost just one game in 2026, and entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
Regardless of who her squad faced, MacKenzie said after Friday’s win that the focus is on being prepared to face a top-caliber opponent, especially defensively.
“I know we can do it. It’s just a matter of buckling down and getting to business,” she said.
The Bears quickly took a lead on Healey’s goal less than three minutes into the contest. The senior tipped the ball in after Sophia Mancini sent it from the right side of the field deep into the shooting circle.
Hanover’s hot start continued about four minutes later when it got on the board again after a rip from Sophia Mancini, set up by Greta Mancini off a penalty corner, to make it 2-0 in the Bears’ favor with 8:21 left in the first frame.
While the Bears’ scoring slowed in the first quarter, they kept the pressure up. Lebanon defended much of the first half. When the Raiders did get the ball, they struggled to get it in deep consistently.
Hanover took advantage in the second quarter, adding two more goals: one from Collins, who deflected a ball sent in by Greta Mancini, and another from Richardson, set up by Healey, to go into halftime up 4-0.
Coming out of the break, Lebanon created chances, earning three penalty corners in the third frame, a welcome sight for head coach Amanda Valliere.
“We had moments of really great things. We put some really good pressure on. The third quarter has been kind of our Achilles’ heel all season. So to have the third quarter we did, where we got three corners, was great,” she said.
“That was like a kind of moment of growth where you can kind of measure and actually see the growth, you know. But yeah, I thought it was a good game. I obviously wish the score was different, but overall, it was a good game of field hockey.”
Those chances didn’t turn into goals, though, and Hanover added a late third-quarter tip from Farrell to go up 5-0. The fourth quarter was scoreless, locking in the Bears’ victory.
After the loss, Valliere said she was proud of her squad and happy her players, especially the seniors, had a winning season and made the playoffs after winning just four games a year ago.
That said, the Raiders coach is excited about the future after a strong 2026 season.
“When you build a culture of, like, strong work ethic, commitment, and then the expectation that we’re going to compete every time we step onto the field, I think that makes a huge difference,” Valliere said.
Hanover’s semifinal date with Bow is slated for Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Exeter High’s Bill Ball Stadium.
