Hanover's Ian Press, left, tries to check Nashua South's Barion Perry at midfield during Tuesday's Division I contest at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It was bound to happen sooner or later.

The Hanover High School boys soccer team was due to get a win over Nashua South, the team that had beaten the Bears in the last two Divsion I title games and four straight times overall.

And that it came3-1 at Stellos Stadium on Tuesday was probably even better for the Bears.

“It’s kind of due,” South coach Tom Bellen said. “We’ve had their number the last four times, it was bound to happen. I’d rather it happen now than in the playoffs.”

“We play better against good teams,” Hanover coach Rob Grabill said. “A great rivalry. And we haven’t had much success against South lately.”

Hanover is now 5-1 and looking strong, while South fell to 4-2 and now has a tough one again here Thursday vs. Manchester Central.

“We got chewed up in the midfield all day,” Bellen said. “They moved off the ball brilliantly, and we weren’t able to keep up with them.”

It was a 1-1 game at halftime, and then Hanover’s Zach Tracy decided enough was enough. He buried a shot off a right wing cross from Carter Guertin just 2:18 into the second half. Six minutes later he dribbled through midfield and literally walked right in on Panthers keeper Ethan Long (6 saves) and scored to make it a 3-1 game. Tracy now has seven goals and six assists on the year.

“We just didn’t have an answer in the midfield today,” Bellen said.

But, as he noted, as poorly as the Panthers played, they had chances. In the 58th minute, Hanover keeper Wyatt Selig stopped South’s Marcell Perry. And soon after Hanvoer back Sam Ames cleared the ball off the goal line with the net empty. Just inside of 15 minutes left, Santi Somorrostro, physically marked most of the game,just missed wide. The opportunities were there.

“As poorly as we played, we had chances,” Bellen said. “We were in the game, even though they had clear possession for most of the game. We created some dangerous chances. It’s kind of part of the game as well, take advantage of what you got … we just couldn’t get it in the back of the net.

“It’s encouraging to one degree, it’s discouraging to another.”

South actually scored first, just over two minutes in, as Steve Long buried a great cross from Somorrostro. They held that led for awhile even while Hanover dominated possession, until the Bears evened things during a flurry in front of Ethan Long. He made an initial save, the ball then deflecting off a purple jersey and then Guerin pounced on it and drove it home at 29:18 of the first half.

Nashua South keeper Ethan Long grabs a corner kick in front of Hanover’s Sam Ames during Tuesday’s game at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Nashua South keeper Ethan Long grabs a corner kick in front of Hanover’s Sam Ames during Tuesday’s game at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

“I was really impressed with our reaction to being scored on first,” Grabill said. “They didn’t play the score. They kept playing, they were patient, they knew it was going to come. It was a sign of maturity for us.”

“For 25 minutes, we couldn’t keep the ball, Bellen said. “We’d get it,and give it away. We talked about it at practice yesterday, we’re a team that needs the ball.”

But they started keeping it, and had a couple of great chances in the half’s final 10 minutes, one robbed by Seelig, a spectacular save lunging save. But South couldn’t get anything by him the final 77 minutes.

“I’m a little frustrated,” Bellen said. “Habits and discipline, we don’t have it right now. We don’t have the same habits and discipline that we’ve had in previous years. We need to work toward that. We still have plenty of time, but we don’t have it right now. Against these better teams, it’s showing.”