Dear fellow Hanoverians:<\/p>\n
Ace soccer reporter Geoff Hoffman sent the following along!<\/p>\n
I am pleased to report outstanding news coming out of Lancaster,
\nMassachusetts for our 2 teams that qualified for the Massachusetts
\nTournament of Champions (MTOC – state soccer tournament).<\/p>\n
The Boys Under 14 1 team \u2013 after losing a squeaker in the first game
\n2-3 to Charleton on Friday, the team rallied and won the next 2 games
\non Saturday. They did not win their bracket, but advanced as the 3
\nbracket wild card to the semi-finals up in Lancaster, one of the
\nhardest paths to take to semi\u2019s \u2013 the final four in the state.
\nCongrats to these boys for pulling it together after an opening loss.
\nThe boys in this age group did not win a game last year \u2013 *a big
\ncongrats for a huge turn around this year*. Then, yesterday, they
\nfaced top seed Framingham in the BU14 semi final and could not move
\npast this talented team. It should be noted that Hanover advanced to
\nthe final four while rival Scituate (who had finished ahead of Hanover
\nin the Coastal League playoffs) could not move out of their own
\nbracket. Again, this team had a great season and huge turnaround from
\nlast year. <\/p>\n
The Boys Under 19 Team \u2013 also had a Friday opening game loss to a
\nchippy Waltham team 1-2; they had out-played Waltham overall but fell
\njust short. They followed with a squeaker win 2-1 on Friday afternoon
\nto stay alive in the tournament. Saturday morning they endured a 1-1
\ntie and were faced with an afternoon game that would bring goal
\ndifferential into play. They won 1-0, and the other team in contention
\nlost 0-2, and thus qualified for the state semi-finals as one of the
\ntop four teams in Massachusetts. They also have taken the hard route,
\nwinning a Coastal League 1 game playoff to advance to MTOC and then
\nthe final 4 in the state in an unconventional manner. <\/p>\n
The final four game for the BU 19 team on Sunday was no less exciting.
\nThe team faced Brockton in their semi-final game. What a game. These
\nguys move from playing 50 minute games in the preliminary rounds to 90
\nminute games in the semi’s and finals. The Hanover guys came ready to
\nplay – clearly out-playing Brockton for 90 minutes – plenty of scoring
\nopportunities, but no finishes. Regulation time ended at 0-0 and two 5
\nminute overtime periods yielded no scoring – 100 minutes of soccer on
\nboth sides – no goals – so they moved to penalty kicks. With nearly
\nthe whole complex watching (I’d estimate close to 1000 kids and adults
\nwatching the dramatic action), Brockton out-dueled Hanover in penalty
\nkicks by just 1 score after moving thru 8 penalty kick rounds. A
\nsomewhat devastating loss, but our guys were gracious in defeat. One
\nthing I think stands out\u2026the semi-final teams for BU19 were
\nBrockton, Waltham, Lynn, and our Hanover. We play cities at MTOC and
\nwe compete with cities. This says something about our program.<\/p>\n
Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the BU 19 team won the
\nState BU19 MTOC Sportsmanship Award \u2013 in a tournament where a lot is
\non the line and emotions run high, this group kept it together and
\nreally has done the town proud. This is also a coach\u2019s award, as
\nthese guys keep our players focused \u2013 thanks to Phil Murray and Paul
\nGardner for keeping our guys ready to play professionally.<\/p>\n
Geoff Hoffman
\nCoastal League Representative for Hanover<\/p>\n
For “Around Town on the Web”,
\nCathy H-B<\/p>\n
—
\n“Around Town on the Web” (“ATOTW”) is a community service that has been
\nprovided to self-selected residents of the Town of Hanover since the spring
\nof 2004.
\nFor submission guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions about
\n“ATOTW”, please go to http:\/\/www.atotw.com.
\nTo search for archived “ATOTW” news, view the archive.
\nIf you would like to be added to this distribution list, click here.
\nIf you would like to be removed from this distribution list, click here.<\/p>\n
—
\nPowered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com —<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear fellow Hanoverians: Ace soccer reporter Geoff Hoffman sent the following along! I am pleased to report outstanding news coming out of Lancaster, Massachusetts for our 2 teams that qualified for the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC – state soccer … Continue reading