The 2015 Hanover High School boys soccer season is underway. With high expectations, the team is locked and loaded with young and upperclass talent all over the field. Senior captains Jonny Ferrarini and Greg Chiarelli look to take more of a leadership role this season and have been a huge reason for the early success of the team this season. The team’s record is 3-2-1  and the boys have only given up four goals through six games, showing the defense and goal tending are some of the best the league as to offer.

Junior Zach Chase, who played varsity as a freshman, sophomore and now junior, expects big things from his team. “The group of guys we have here is deep and as the season goes on we’re only going to get better playing with one another.”

On Tuesday, they faced off against Division II state championship runner up Hingham High School and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. The tie was a success in my opinion as Hingham has some of the best strikers in Division II and has championship hopes on their mind.

Coached by Mr. Steve Rodday, Hanover boys soccer is set  to have an incredible season. I truly believe the high expectations will be met by all of the great players on this year’s team.

This year should be a big one for the Hanover football program. They worked hard all off-season with the goal of playing at Gillette for the State Championship. That is usually the goal for all teams heading into the season, but for Hanover it might not be that far-fetched. They recently were  ranked in the top 50 for all of Massachusetts, which is a great accomplishment due to the fact that the rankings include teams from all divisions.

The Indians have started the season off with a record of 2-1 with blowout wins against Oliver Ames and North Quincy. The loss came to an East Bridgewater team that was undoubtedly their toughest opponent on their regular season schedule. It was a close, competitive game until the very end. Hanover held a lead going into halftime but couldn’t hold off the explosive EB offense for the entire game. It finished with a score of 25-22 in favor of the Vikings. This Hanover team can score with the best of them, as shown in their first three games this year.

All in all, the next biggest goal for the program is to win the Patriot League; this is something they fell short of accomplishing last year. Their main competition in thei league looks to be Middleboro, the reigning Patriot League champions. The two teams square off on October 23rd in Middleboro. While trying not to look too far in advance, that is a matchup that could have serious Patriot League championship implications when it takes place.

This should be a great season for Hanover Football due to their impressive amount of talent combined with an intelligent coaching staff. They have all of the tools to succeed and it appears that they will do so. The key for the Indians will be their ability to keep scoring at this impressive rate. This will be an exciting team to watch and they should be a team that might be able to turn some heads this season.

This year’s Hanover girls soccer squad, coached by Michael Fraser, could end up being more dangerous than you think. However, there are some negatives that may slow them down: injuries. Junior scorer Kayleigh LaFreniere recently tore her ACL for the second time in as many seasons. Junior defender Kate Joy started the season off with a MCL injury, however she is recovering. Junior Meaghan Bishop dislocated her hip, and sophomore Marissa Shoulla tore her MCL; both will miss some time. These, along with several injuries to knees and ankles, have caused many of the girls to miss practices. The girls team also plays a brutal schedule. Tough teams in Notre Dame Academy and Whitman-Hanson Regional both dealt Hanover tough losses early in the year, putting their overall record at 3-5.

However, there are just as many positives that make it too early to rule out tournament play. This Hanover team returns many of its players from a young team last year that took down powerhouse Duxbury High 1-0 last year, the first defeat by Hanover over Duxbury in 25 years. Led by senior captains Great Barry (goalie), Emma Devine (center back), and Kaleigh Polatta (center back), this Hanover team hopes to overcome a tough early schedule and the slew of injuries in order to make a run at the league. Another huge positive for this team is their togetherness on and off of the field. “We work well together in all aspects,” says Joy. “We’re one big happy family and our team chemistry is undeniable.” This will be an immense advantage for the girls as the season goes on, especially if they can make the state tournament.

As the team takes on Plymouth North High next game, a league game, this will be an important stretch for the girls. Pay attention to this team, ladies and gentlemen. They just might end up ruling the fall season.

Senior Golfer is Second in State

Senior Sophie Morrill finished second in the state golf tournament at Wentworth Hills Country Club June 9. Her score of 74 was just short of the leader, Krystal Knight of Pentucket, who won with a 69.

Lacrosse: Girls Fall in Semifinal, Boys Knocked Out

Girls lax, with a record of 11-4, is seeded 3rd in Division 2 South, earning a first-round BYE. They defeated 6th seed Fairhaven 14-5  at HHS on June 4 to move onto the semifinal, but lost 17-8 to 2nd seed Cohasset to end their tourney run on June 9.

Boys lax, which finished the season 10-9, earned the 8th seed in Division 3 South. They beat 9th seeded Martha’s Vineyard 12-4 in a home game June 1 but they lost to top seed Cohasset on June 3 by a score of 11-8.

Softball Run Ends in Quarterfinal

The winners of the Patriot League (Fisher division) with a 16-4 record, the team earned 4th seed and a first-round BYE in Division 2 South. They defeated 13th seed Seekonk June 4 by a score of 3-1 but lost to 5th seed Bellingham in the quarterfinal June 7.

Baseball Falls in First Round

Despite a rocky season, the team earned a spot in the tournament under the Sullivan Rule, which allows a team with a losing record to qualify if it plays most of its games against bigger schools but had at least a .500 record against opponents in its league. Unfortunately, the squad ended its tournament run with a 4-0 loss to fifth-seeded Norwell on June 5.

Track and Field: Runner Competes at States

The track team, which saw Emma Buckley and Dan Padula both set school records in the 100 m dash in the regular season, sent several athletes to the EMASS Division 4 state meet June 3. Buckley finished 4th in the 100m and 6th in the 200m. She competed in the 100m in the All-States Championship on June 6.

Niamh Kenney took 5th place in the two-mile run, Stephanie Flynn finished 12th in the mile, and Amanda Lawlor finished 11th in the half-mile. Emily Sweeney finished 6th in the pentathlon, which includes the shot put, high jump, long jump, 100 m hurdles and 800 m run. Junior Sarah Miller came in 8th in the long jump.

For the boys, Padula came in 12th in the 100m dash.

Tennis: Girls Lose in First Round, Boys Fail to Qualify

Girls tennis, which was seeded 17th with a record of 9-9, faced Sandwich for its first playoff on June 5. Unfortunately, the team lost 4-1.

Boys tennis struggled this season, finishing with a 1-17 record.

Rugby Looks to Next Year

Hanover’s new rugby team had a strong first season, ending with  a 5-2 record. The team hopes to make tournament next year when it officially becomes a varsity team, according to junior Padraic McDonough.

Athlete of the Year Award

Jack Buckley received the HHS Athlete of the Year Award at the annual boosters sports rally on June 1.  According to Athletic Director Scott Hutchison, Jack was a state leader in scoring, a Patriot League All Star and an All-Scholastic for the Patriot Ledger, Boston Herald, and Boston Globe.  As a senior this year, Jack lead his basketball team to their first League Championship in over 20 years and their first State Tournament victory in over 10 years.

Athletics Paragon Award

Also at the boosters rally, senior Michael McLeod received the HHS Athletics Paragon Award for Overall Excellence in athletics, academics, leadership, and character.  Michael is a three-sport captain, three-sport Scholar-Athlete, as well a young man of great integrity, according to Hutchison.

GLax as they are informally titled has been having one of the best seasons of the spring sports teams at HHS and they’re still going strong. Heading into tonight’s senior night, the team has a record of 9-3-2. The senior class has been a strong one, made up of Sydney Lambert, Marissa Nimeskern, Holly Welch, Hannah Mischler, Hannah Joy, and Liz Gallagher. If you’re around tonight, go send them off with a large crowd.

The team has a very good record and are near the top of the Patriot League. They have had some great wins, like one over Patriot League Fisher rival Scituate. They have had some tough losses like the one to Norwell, the top team in the region. And the good competition will keep on coming, as they face Marshfield today, Cohasset on Thursday and Sandwich next week.

The team has been firing on all cylinders mostly, but Senior Captain Sydney Lambert had a few that stood out to her. “(Sophomore) Jenny Rosinski has been playing well and is going to be a huge asset the next couple of years. (Junior) Emma Devine is doing well on defense and is a very good transitional player, (Junior) Brielle Prouty is a really hard worker and has been moving the ball well.”

Prouty, as well as fellow Junior Chachie Smigliani, are actually both committed to play division 1 lacrosse, at Liberty University and Bryant University, respectively.

Despite a great record, the team isn’t in line for a league championship and it’s tough when you have to face top teams like Hingham and Norwell annually. Still, the Indians have already qualified for the tournament and look poised to keep their season going strong.

The Indians’ Softball  team has a good mix of seasoned veterans and inexperienced players, which has gotten them off to a reputable start. Despite quite a few tough losses, the team’s talent and determination should help them rise to the top as the season progresses. With the help of colleague and team ace Callie MacDonald, here’s a look at how the season has been going.

The team is 7-3, a very good record when you take into account the difficulty of the Patriot League. They have had some really tough losses in extra innings games where, if a couple things had gone their way, they would have been victorious. According to MacDonald, their toughest game was against Middleboro. The game went 10 innings and they eventually fell to the Sachems 5-3. It was tough because after 10 innings in softball, an international tiebreaker is used. The international tiebreaker is when the each inning kicks off with a runner starting on 2nd base for the team batting.  Middleboro is a big rival when it comes to softball so it was a tough loss, but the Indians will get another crack at them.

Hanover has had some big wins as well. According to Callie, a somewhat recent victory over Whitman-Hanson was their best and most memorable win. “The game started off terrible,” she said. “We gave up a lot of hits and errors, leaving us down by seven.  We didn’t let that get into our heads.  We pulled it together and won in the last inning, 11 to 9.” The Indians have shown great resiliency all year and in this game it payed off for them.

A lot of team members are playing some great softball right now. Callie and Lindsay North have been leading the way at the plate, both hitting .670 coming into the week. They have been strongly reinforced by co-captains Steph Spitz, who has been good at the dish and in the field, and Kayla McMahon, who has an incredible three grand slams on the season, including two  in one game. Caroline O’Rourke has been good behind the plate this year, allowing very few past balls while having a quick pop time.

The toughest stretch of the year is behind the Indians and they came out of it in good shape. The team  has a good chance of making it into tournament play.

Photo by William Wassersug @scifisportsguy via Twitter.

The Boys Lacrosse team lost a great amount of talent when the Class of 2014 graduated. Coming into this year with some uncertainty, the team is off to a good start and hopes to stay consistent.

The team is off to a 3-1 start and in the “last 10 out” portion of the ESPNBosotn.com poll. Their lone loss comes from perennial juggernaut Duxbury, who, at #3 in the ESPNBosotn.com poll, is an “underachieving” 13-5 at home. They started off the season with a weekend win up on the North Shore vs. Hamilton-Wenham. It was a low scoring affair and Hanover came away with a 5-4 win against a good team. They came back the following Monday to face the Hull Pirates in a non-league home game. The tribe won 9-8, but members of the team acknowledged they didn’t play their best and should have done better. They kicked off league play vs. Silver Lake. Let’s just say this, Silver Lake is definitely a baseball school. The Indians blew them out by a dominating score of 18-3. After that came the Duxbury loss, which was an anticipated result.

The team has a good mix of players from all four grades and are getting contributions from everyone. Noah Clapp, after a stellar hockey season, minds the net for Lacrosse and has been off to a good start. Among the D Poles helping him out are Christian Sarruda and Joe Byrne, who are both doing well. In the midfield, the Indians use a wide cast of players to carry them. In terms of attack, Senior Tom Martin and Freshman Neil Calkin have been playing very well.

The team still has a tough road ahead with a solid Patriot League that includes excellent teams like Hingham and Scituate as well as D3 powerhouse Cohasset (#7 in the ESPNBoston.com poll) . If Hanover wants to get anywhere in the postseason, they’ll have to get by Cohasset and/or #9 Dover-Sherborn, two teams that have been big roadblocks for them in the past. The team will continue to get better as the season goes on and are fully capable of having a great year.

The Red Sox opened their season by making a strong statement. The team combined for six home runs, one of them a grand slam, to crush Philadelphia 8-0 Monday, souring the Phillies’ home opener. Clay Bucholz was nearly unhittable on the mound. With the game, the team seemed to say “we’re back and we’re ready to win.”

The Sox currently ranked 8th on The Bleacher Report for MLB rankings, due to the off season additions of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. Pitching was a concern after they failed to resign Jon Lester. Another blow came when catcher Christian Vazquez went out with the season-ending Tommy John surgery. They were forced to call up top catching prospect Blake Swihart.

Overall, I feel we will have a decent season and make it to the playoffs but will be  up against tough odds to make it to the World Series for the 4th time in 11 years due to the pitching problems. The only way we have a chance of getting to the World Series again would have to be a huge blockbuster trade for a superstar pitcher, which doesn’t seem likely.

The season continues today with another game in Philadelphia. The Sox home opener is Monday, April 13.

The incredible amount of snow this winter has been a real thorn in the side to spring sports everywhere. Some of the problems are fading but the damage has been done. The MIAA has pushed back the end of the regular season by a week for every sport except Track and Field, which only got pushed back to May 28th. Many programs have felt the struggle along with Hanover.  But at HHS, things are finally starting to get underway.

The boys lacrosse team spent much of its first week offsite at an indoor turf facility. They got into action this weekend with a 5-4 win north of Boston at Hamilton-Wenham. They followed it up with their first home game Monday afternoon with the turf finally clear, knocking off Hull. Last week, three Hanover teams went on the road to start their seasons as well. Boys and Girls tennis, who usually play opposite of each other, both went to Duxbury where they came up short. Girls lacrosse went to Quincy and got a W on their record. Five tennis courts are cleared as well as the turf so all of those teams should start to have home contests soon.

Track and Field has been pretty limited thus far by the snow. The team has been doing most of its stuff out in front of the school. They have already had one meet postponed. They haven’t been able to practice their field events and haven’t done much of anything on the actual track. Hopefully, they won’t be too rusty when they finally  start.

As for Baseball and Softball, a brand new indoor batting cage donated by HYAA has helped but both teams spent have spent a lot of time cooped up in the gym so far. Just recently, both teams have started to use portions of the turf and some of the front fields to get some work in. Both teams had all their games last week postponed. Softball travels to Plymouth North Wednesday (4/8) for its first game and baseball will take the diamond for games next week.

Rugby has been inside the middle school gym for the most part. With the turf now open, they will hopefully get outside some more. However, they operate on a very different schedule than the rest of spring sports.

The winter cleaning has been pretty tough, but Mr. Hutchison has done an excellent job getting things ready. He cleared all five of the open tennis courts almost entirely by himself. He had quite an innovative method going with the turf, where the use of many huge tarps laying face down has led to more melting and opened up patches until it has reached a point where the entire playing field is clear. Things will get going full throttle around here soon and hopefully the spring weather will cooperate so that the rest of the season can go on without a hitch.

Cover photo by Patriot Ledger