MANCHESTER, N.H. - Hanover boys soccer did almost everything it came to Manchester to do on Wednesday. The Bears crowded the middle of the field, slowed Bedford’s attack and held the second-seeded Bulldogs to a single shot on goal. That one shot was enough.
Junior midfielder Devyn Lafferty scored in the 71st minute, and Bedford beat third-seeded Hanover 1-0 in the semifinals at Chabot-McDonough Field at Manchester Memorial. The loss ends the Bears’ season.
For 70 minutes, neither side could find much. Hanover packed the midfield and kept multiple players around Caden Santerre, Bedford’s senior star striker, all night. Bedford coach Stu Pepper said afterward that no team had done a better job of slowing his side down all season.
The Bears had the best look of the night first. In the 67th minute, John Thapa slipped a through ball to Rex Chanyi inside the penalty box, but Chanyi’s shot went wide left.
Four minutes later, Bedford broke through. Santerre won a header, Lafferty collected the ball inside the box and drove a low shot home. It was Bedford’s only shot on goal of the game. Lafferty, who missed the first half of the season with hip and groin injuries, also scored against Hanover in the teams’ 2-2 draw at Bedford on Oct. 13.
Hanover finished with two shots on goal, and Bedford junior goalkeeper Silas Heiser kept both out for the shutout. Bedford also had all four of the game’s corner kicks.
“They’re good at playing through and we were able to stop them,” Hanover coach Lucas Richardson said. “We work really hard and it’s hard to play that way for 80 minutes and they (the players) did it tonight.”
It was that kind of season for the Bears, who won games with their defense all fall. Hanover finishes 14-3-2, with 13 shutouts and just 10 goals allowed in 19 games. The Bears’ three losses came against Manchester Memorial, unbeaten Nashua South and Bedford.
The playoff run included a 1-0 home win over Concord in the opening round and a 3-1 home win over Londonderry in the quarterfinals. A year ago, Hanover’s season ended in the quarterfinals on penalty kicks against Bishop Guertin. This group went one round further and came within a goal of playing for the title.
Bedford will meet top-seeded Nashua South in the final on Saturday, November 7, at 5:15 p.m. back at Memorial High. The Bulldogs won the title the last time they reached the final, in 2023.
Hanover’s fall isn’t over yet. Bears football plays a quarterfinal at Merrimack Valley on Friday night, and Hanover cross country runs at the Meet of Champions on Saturday.
Other relevant play on Wednesday, November 4:
Exeter 3 at Nashua South 4 Top-seeded Nashua South, which beat Hanover 2-0 on Oct. 22, edged Exeter in the other semifinal to set up Saturday’s final against Bedford.
That wraps up the day for Hanover High School sports. We’ll see you next time!