By TOM KING

Staff Writer

HOLLIS – If the Hollis Brookline and Hanover High School girls soccer teams played each other 10 times, each team would probably win five games.

But the Division II defending champion Marauders came away with the win that counted the most on Sunday, a hard-fought 2-1 quarterfinal triumph over the top-seeded Cavaliers.

"I agree with (the 5-5) completely," said Cavaliers coach Peter Clarke, whose 14-3 team beat No. 8 Hanover in the final game of the regular season by a 1-0 count in overtime. "We knew coming down here it was going to be a similar game. … It was a fantastic game."

The Cavaliers, down 2-0 early in the second half, added a forward to the front line and just kept coming at the Marauders. It worked as freshman Tasha White was hauled down on the fringe of the penalty area, resulting in the Cavs’ lone goal on the day, a penalty kick by Magnolia Moskun at the 16:46 mark, making it 2-1.

"It was a tough moment to drop down 2-0," Clarke said. "But you know what? In a way it helped us a little bit; it made us more aggressive. We have so many seniors, these girls understand it’s their last season. … We created enough near opportunities."

But it was an uphill climb the entire way. The Marauders scored the only goal of the first half on a bang-bang play as Bryn Kable converted J.J. Taube’s corner kick at 32:42. The Cavs had a chance to tie it soon after but a shot clanked off the post near Hanover keeper Mahler Meyerrose (five saves).

Hanover made it 2-0 just over four minutes into the second half on a penalty kick by Cate Wagner. HB keeper Olivia Cleghorn (six stops) had no chance on either Marauder goal.

Then came the Cavs, storming downfield constantly, led by winger Torrey Cook.

"After we went up 2-0, they obviously said, ‘It’s everything,’ and they gave us everything they could," Kennedy said. "I thought we played really well up until that point. I was feeling good."

He held his breath, though, when HB’s Haley Modelski looked like she had broken in on Meyerrose with five minutes left only to be called for offsides. And Kennedy held it again when White had a free kick from the right side with just under a minute to go that got deflected away in the box, essentially ending the Cavs’ otherwise fine year.

"I love this team," Clarke said. "It’s the first team where so many seniors put together every aspect of the game that I ask for. You know, this year, we just went down fighting."