HANOVER — Nora Bradley scored four times and Bummy Loughman and Maeve Lee each added hat tricks to push Hanover High to a 13-5 victory over NHIAA Division II opponent Timberlane on Thursday at Merriman-Branch Field.

The Bears (3-2) trailed by two goals after a quarter, but reached halftime in a 3-3 tie and scored three of the third quarter’s four goals to pull away from the Owls (3-2).

“We started to pick it up on the draw and that really changed the momentum,” Bradley said. “Our coaches helped us reset during a timeout and take a deep breath and become less frantic on the field. We focused on our fundamentals, because we know we can do that well.”

Maeve Bradley scored twice for the hosts and Joia Collins once. Charlotte Robinson made six saves for a team that was 15-2 and lost the division title game to Hollis-Brookline by a goal last spring.

“Their goalie was making some nice saves, but I felt like the first couple shots we shot right at her,” said fifth-year Hanover coach Sarah Martin. “Between quarters we talked about shooting to score, shooting around her. We started to make her work a little bit more and the shooters started to find the corners.”

Hanover returned only five players from last season’s team and features eight freshmen among 10 newcomers. Loughman is one of them and was a standout Thursday.

“She’s a powerful workhorse with a lot to learn and a lot of room to grow,” Martin said of the midfielder. “She’s going to be a great player.”

Martin noted that another freshman, Maeve Bradley, is playing as the midfield’s main defender.

“It’s a lot to ask of them,” Martin said. “But they’re such good athletes with good sticks and we’re just going to live with some of their errors.”

Hanover, 31-8 the last three seasons, began the current campaign with sizable victories over Goffstown and Kennett before having the tables turned on it by Division I foes Bedford and Pinkerton. Martin said those loses, by a combined 19 goals, exposed the Bears’ weaknesses.

“It was a little bit of trial by fire, but I think it got my players’ attention as to what we have to work on,” the coach said. “My team’s starting to realize how much we have to fight and hustle and go after ground balls.”

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.