HANOVER — Fifteen seconds.
That was all that separated Hanover boys soccer — one of New Hampshire’s most storied programs — from its first opening-round postseason exit since 1997. The No. 3 seed in the NHIAA Division I tournament was on the ropes against No. 14 seed Alvirne, and as the rain continued to fall, it looked as if HHS would fall as well.
Jack Gardner wasn’t about to let that happen. Senior Eric Ringer played a ball in to sophomore midfielder Carter Guerin, who corralled it with his chest and flicked a pass to Gardner. The junior striker took it from there, playing it into the bottom left corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season, sending the game to extra time.
Senior Jacob Kubik-Pauw won it a minute into the second extra period, launching Hanover (13-3-1) into its 24th straight quarterfinal with a 2-1 victory.
“Tournament games are always different. They’re always tight,” Hanover coach Rob Grabill said. “Alvirne had a good plan. They sat behind the ball and conceded a lot of space to us. But we stayed calm, we spread the field, we used a lot of players. At the end of the second half and in overtime, we were fitter, and that helped us maintain possession.”
Hanover dominated both possession and scoring chances in the first half, with Guerin and senior midfielder Murphy Hunt getting good looks at the net, but the Broncos’ stingy defense and a spectacular game from Alvirne goalkeeper Mason Brooks kept things scoreless. The start of the second half was more of the same, but Alvirne (6-10-1) eventually began to weather Hanover’s attack and play some offense of its own.
With just over 10 minutes left in regulation, the Broncos were awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the box. Kaven Fitch’s shot sailed over the crossbar, though, and the deadlock continued.
It was finally broken about five minutes later. Alvirne turned defense into offense, and the Broncos’ counterattack produced the game’s first goal when Jack Ashworth fired a shot past Hanover’s junior goalkeeper, Ty Nolon.
All of a sudden, HHS stood just over five minutes from its season coming to an abrupt end until Gardner came to the rescue.
“We’re used to coming from behind,” Gardner said. “We were used to keeping our cool when we really need a goal. That really paid off.”
Hanover again controlled most of the ball in the first 10-minute overtime period, but openings in the Alvirne defense proved hard to find. That is until the first minute of the second extra session, when Kubik-Pauw slotted home the winner, his fourth goal of the year.
Kubik-Pauw made a run behind the defense as Ringer got the ball and sent a crossing pass his way. A trio of Broncos quickly surrounded him, so Kubik-Pauw faked a shot to get the defenders and Brooks out of position, then put a left-footed delivery past Brooks to end the game.
Hanover will be on home turf once again for Friday’s quarterfinal against either No. 6 seed Londonderry or No. 11 seed Pinkerton. HHS defeated Londonderry, 2-0, on Oct. 7 and did not play Pinkerton in the regular season.
“I’m looking forward to the next game,” Grabill said. “We get to be together as a team for three more days. We get to train with each other, and that’s really precious at the end of the season when you’ve built all this camaraderie up.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.