Hanover girls soccer beats Milford on penalty kicks to take D2 crown

NASHUA – Bella Bardales has enough experience with penalty kicks to know that she didn’t want to have to deal with them again.

But as time continued to tick away in Sunday’s Division II girls soccer championship, and the scoreboard at Stellos Stadium still had a pair of zeros on it, that’s exactly where Bardales and the No. 5 Hanover High School team was headed.

After the first three shooters for the Marauders found the back of the net, and two of Milford’s first three hit pipe, Hanover had the advantage. The Spartans got another to keep the shootout going, but on their fifth attempt, Bardales made a diving grab off the foot of Milford’s Mikayla Thompson.

It took a moment for the Marauders to realize what happened, but they mobbed Bardales in front of the net, celebrating a 3-2 final on penalty kicks that gave Hanover a 1-0 win over Milford. The title is the third in five years for Hanover.

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