HANOVER — When Hanover and Lebanon met on Sept. 1, the result left little doubt. Hanover scored early and often on its way to an 8-0 victory, one of the first indications that the Bears might be poised for a special season. Sophia Mancini scored three times, while Anya Nyhan, Grace Healey, Joia Collins, Anna Farrell and Chloe Dalle each added a goal.
Nearly two months later, the stakes and circumstances will be considerably different. Third-seeded Hanover hosts No. 6 Lebanon at 3 p.m. Friday in the NHIAA Division II quarterfinals, with the winner advancing to Tuesday’s state semifinals at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter. Lebanon earned the rematch by surviving Merrimack Valley 1-0 in Tuesday’s preliminary round, while Hanover received a first-round bye.
The early-season score makes Hanover the obvious favorite, but it would be a mistake to assume Friday will simply be a repeat of September. Lebanon has shown consistent improvement over the course of the season and arrives in Hanover having already won an elimination game. The Raiders’ 1-0 win Tuesday was a long way from the type of game Hanover encountered in the first meeting, and Friday gives Lebanon an opportunity to measure how far it has come against the team that handed it its most lopsided early-season result.
For Hanover, meanwhile, the quarterfinal begins what the Bears hope will be a much longer postseason run.
A season that changed expectations
Hanover has developed from a Division II contender into one of the state’s better teams regardless of classification. The Bears enter the tournament ranked No. 8 in the statewide coaches poll across all three NHIAA divisions, an important distinction for a Division II program competing for recognition with the state’s largest schools.
Hanover’s résumé backs up the recognition. The Bears lost only twice during the regular season, and their performances against elite opposition showed that they are capable of playing with virtually anyone they might encounter in the tournament.
Perhaps the best example came against unbeaten Souhegan (No. 2 statewide). Hanover went on the road and played the eventual No. 1 seed in Division II to a 1-1 tie, taking the lead on an Anna Farrell goal before Souhegan finally equalized in the fourth quarter. Hanover’s other critical test against a Division II championship contender came at Bow, where the Bears fell just short in a 5-4 loss. Bow (No. 5 statewide) finished 14-1 and secured the No. 2 seed.
Hanover’s other loss came against Pinkerton (No. 3), which finished 13-1-2 and earned the No. 2 seed in Division I. Taken together, those games helped establish Hanover as something more than a team that piled up wins against lesser competition. The Bears have been tested against the state’s best teams and have competed well in each match.
That is a significant change from a year ago, when Hanover finished 11-6 and saw its season end in the Division II quarterfinals. This year’s team enters the same round with substantially greater expectations.
Plenty of offense, but more than one scorer
The Bears have shown an ability to overwhelm opponents offensively. They scored nine against ConVal, eight against Lebanon and Pembroke, seven against Kingswood, six against Oyster River and five against both Milford and John Stark during the regular season.
Mancini has been the most dangerous individual piece of that attack. In addition to her hat trick against Lebanon, she scored twice in Hanover’s season-opening 4-0 win over Hollis Brookline and erupted for five goals in a 7-1 victory over Kingswood. But Hanover’s offense has also shown considerable balance. Five players other than Mancini scored in the first Lebanon game alone, which presents a more difficult challenge than simply trying to contain Hanover’s leading scoring threat.
There is a defensive component to Hanover’s success as well. The Bears opened the year by shutting out Hollis Brookline, and coach Mallory MacKenzie pointed afterward to the team’s preseason emphasis on defense and transferring the ball from one side of the field to the other. That foundation has complemented the scoring production throughout the fall.
Lebanon gets another shot
Friday’s most intriguing question may be how much can be learned from the first Hanover-Lebanon game. Hanover should take confidence from it. An 8-0 result is too decisive to dismiss, especially when six different Bears scored. But Lebanon’s season did not stop on Sept. 1, and the team coming to Hanover Friday has had most of the fall to develop since that meeting.
The Raiders also now have something Hanover does not: a 2026 playoff game under their belts. Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Merrimack Valley wasn’t flashy, but style points become irrelevant this time of year. Lebanon did what postseason teams have to do. It found a way to advance.
That makes the matchup more compelling than the regular-season score might suggest. Hanover has the better résumé, the higher seed, home-field advantage and the confidence that comes from having already beaten Lebanon. The Raiders counter with the familiarity of a local rival, steady improvement since the teams last met and the momentum of a playoff victory.
For Hanover, there is another challenge as well: looking no further than Friday. The bracket makes it tempting. Should Hanover advance and No. 2 Bow win its quarterfinal, the Bears would get another shot at the team that beat them 5-4 during the regular season in Tuesday’s state semifinal. Unbeaten No. 1 Souhegan is on the opposite side of the bracket, meaning the Bears couldn’t face the Sabers again until the championship game.
Those possibilities help explain why there is legitimate excitement surrounding this Hanover team. The Bears aren’t simply the No. 3 seed in Division II. They are ranked among the top 10 field hockey teams in New Hampshire across all divisions, and they have already demonstrated that they can go toe-to-toe with the two teams seeded ahead of them.
But none of those possibilities matter without Friday.
Hanover has championship aspirations. Lebanon has an opportunity to show just how far it has come. And this time, the Upper Valley rivals will meet with one team’s season ending when the game is over.