MANCHESTER — The Hanover High boys soccer team’s postseason run ended on Wednesday night, as it fell 1-0 to Bedford High in a nail-biter of an NHIAA Division I semifinal at Manchester Memorial High School.
With about 10½ minutes left in regulation in a scoreless bout, Bedford sent a high, arcing ball into the 18-yard box, which deflected back up after careening between a Bear and a Bulldog.
Bulldog juniors Ibrahim Jusufovic and Devyn Lafferty both took a swipe at the ball off the volley, and it rocketed into the back of the net, giving No. 2-seeded Bedford (15-2-2) the difference-making goal in Wednesday’s contest. Jusufovic was credited with what proved to be the game-winning strike.
“I mean, super bummed about the result. … I am very proud of this team,” Bears coach Lucas Richardson said afterward.
“I thought we played very well tonight. I thought we deserved a goal in there. We had our chances. We didn’t get them, and that’s also how soccer is sometimes.”
Indeed, No. 3-seeded Hanover had its opportunities, even as it trailed late.
With under a minute remaining, junior Andreas Tzilianos headed a ball to junior Sacha Palm, who ran down the right side of the pitch, got into a one-on-one with Bedford’s keeper from a tough angle and shot wide off the side of the net.
The Bears could have taken a second-half lead before that, but it was not to be. With less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation, junior John Thapa sent the pass into the middle of the 18-yard box, where junior Rex Chanyi corralled it but shot wide with a clean opportunity out in front.
“There’s nothing we can say now that’ll make them feel better, but over time they will look back and feel proud about the way they played tonight and the way that they played this season,” Richardson said.
“This team stayed together the entire time. They played for each other. They were committed. You know, guy No. 1 through (No.) 19. Everyone was fully in it for the entire season, which doesn’t always happen in high school soccer. And it was a really fun team to be a part of.”
The postseason contest between the two squads was a stark contrast — at least on the scoreboard — from last month’s regular-season matchup, when they tied 2-2.
Defense was the name of the game on Wednesday, with dangerous chances from both sides coming few and far between. From the Bears’ perspective, that type of defensive pressure — or as Richardson described it, “hunting” — is his squad’s identity.
“Tonight I thought, especially, there was just a moment in the first half, like we were just relentless in the midfield and did it really good,” he said.
“We worked really hard, and it’s hard to play that way for 80 minutes. … We did our job. We just didn’t put those chances in, and that happens sometimes.”
Hanover captain Nate McFetridge, one of three seniors the Bears (14-2-3) will lose to graduation next season, embodied that identity, Richardson said.
The example he set, along with this loss, are things Richardson hopes his squad — which will return a large number of rising seniors next season — will use as fuel for the future.
“I know every one of these guys is going to be thinking about that till we get back in August, and that’s one of the many things I love about this group is: They’re really competitive,” Richardson said.
“Feels like a long way away right now, but it’s a good group to have coming back, for sure.”
