HANOVER — Dylan Kotlowitz will always be left wondering.
With the Hanover High boys soccer team deadlocked with Windham late in Wednesday’s NHIAA Division I semifinal, the senior back served up a corner kick that appeared to curve into the visitors’ goal. The Marauders celebrated briefly, but their joy was quickly curtailed thanks to a no-call by the officiating crew.
The Jaguars scored on a counterattack moments later to secure a 2-1 victory over the defending state-champion Marauders at Merriman-Branch Field.
“We had three or four guys who said the ball was in the net,” said Hanover coach Rob Grabill, regarding Kotlowitz’s shot. “They have a linesman, standing on the … now, admittedly, he was 60 yards from the play because he was down on the far side, so I don’t know if he got a look at it. I can’t tell; I was way too far away from it.”
Windham (10-0-1), which will face Winnacunnet in Saturday’s championship game in Hampton, N.H., was speedy and aggressive throughout the contest.
“Full credit to Windham,” Grabill said. “This was a case where we ran into a very highly motivated team, playing very well. They just put (Manchester) Central out. They are very much a final four team, and I’ll be shocked if they don’t win (it all).”
The visitors took the lead in the 29th minute when Max Husson split the Marauder defense and crossed the ball to Jack Runde, who scored past Hanover goalie Ty Nolon (four saves).
The Marauders (9-1-1) answered in the 55th minute, when Jackson Lake assisted Murphy Hunt on a right-to-left pass that was similar in execution to Windham’s earlier tally. The play that culminated with Hunt’s shot in between outstretched goalie Preston Neal (three saves) and the crossbar began with a heel flick by Hanover forward Henry Aspinwall.
“I was very satisfied with the way we reacted to being scored on,” Grabill said. “There was no doubt in my mind that we would be able to tilt the table in the second half and, you know, we had some really good long stretches there. We had our moments after we tied the game, and then they got us; made a nice goal on the counter.”
The Jaguars went ahead for good in the 73rd minute after Ryan Husson found his brother, Max, with a well-placed through ball in front of the Hanover net. The left-side feed set up a race between Max Husson and Nolon, which the former won by a split second. Both players were getting back up from their collision as the ball rolled across the goal line.
The Jaguars, who last made a title game as a Division II member in 2017 when they lost to Pembroke in double overtime, will be the away team in Saturday’s tilt against the Warriors.
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Notes: Hanover has competed in D-I for nine years and has been to seven semifinal rounds during that time span. … Aspinwall led Hanover with eight points (six goals) on the season, followed by Eric Ringer (seven points) and Kotlowitz (six). … The Marauders will graduate Kotlowitz, Aspinwall, Lake, Charles Wheelen, Pierce Hamlin, Alex Stevens, Nathan Subrahmanian, Mitch Aspinwall, Tucker Monson, Tom Lyons and Matias Lee.