Hanover is possibly the strongest team in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, and they were willing to demonstrate it on their home field on Friday, Sept. 25.

The Panthers got an early advantage, with freshman Christa Hurak scoring in the second minute in some chaos over a hand ball ruling. Hanover scored one more goal from Hurak in the 16th minute before the SMWC team could completely adjust to and match the Panthers’ excellent speed of play.

While under some pressure in the rest of the half and outpossessed two to one, The Woods’ back four played very well, and the half ended at 2-0. Confident and determined at half time, the SMWC team came out and matched the Panthers’ possession in the attacking third for half of the second half before Hanover could gain any advantage again. While some attacks were promising, they could not produce a score, nor could they keep the Panthers off the board for one more, making a final of 3-0. Nonetheless, the SMWC Soccer Team played every player, demonstrated clear progress in the key areas of zonal defending and speed of play, and came away upbeat, determined to use this experience well.

Submitted by Mike Aycock