MANCHESTER — Henry Cotter’s left glove was off before the referee’s arm had even extended fully upward, the ensuing red card confirming what Cotter already knew: His night was over.

In the 54th minute of Hanover’s 1-0 semifinal loss to top-seeded Bedford in the NHIAA Division I boys soccer tournament, the Bears’ senior goalkeeper had to come off his line. There was no other option. Twenty-five yards from his own goal, Cotter collided with the Bulldogs’ Ali Mirza. Bedford’s junior forward was first to the ball, poking it around Cotter, who didn’t have a chance to slow his momentum before barreling into Mirza. Cotter was given a red card, the center official deeming the collision a denial of a promising attacking opportunity despite protests.

Cotter’s dismissal meant 4-seeded Hanover, which was already trailing 1-0, would now be forced to play the final 26 minutes with 10 players. 

“This was pretty much the way we drew it up,” coach Rob Grabill said with a tinge of sarcasm postgame. “Playing Bedford a man down … with five freshmen in the lineup and our starting goalie on the bench.”

As Cotter exited the pitch for his final time as a Bears soccer player, he dapped up his replacement, Gabi del Pino, before plopping down on the bench. The sophomore goalkeeper played well in the last half hour of the game, making several saves to keep Hanover’s bid for a late equalizer alive until the final whistle. 

But a late tally, despite the Bears’ best efforts, would never arrive. Bedford’s lone goal, provided off the foot of Ethan Benjamin in the 30th minute, secured another shot at a state championship for the Bulldogs. It also saw Hanover’s run of three state title game appearances snapped.

“We fought until we couldn’t fight anymore,” senior center-back Sam Ames said. “We had chances at the end. We had a few free kicks when everything was looking like it was gone. We still fought through it.”

Perhaps it’s fitting that Hanover’s next-man-up mentality, an identity that has defined its season, was tested once more in its season finale. 

From the season’s beginning, Grabill had to contend with a near constant roster shuffle. Back line stalwarts in Ames, Schuyler Clapp, Noah Winchester and Joseph Glass all saw knocks, injuries or other absences keep them off the pitch. Senior Andrew McGuire suffered a knee injury against Bedford in the second game of the season, ending his campaign before it even began; senior Gavin Munson’s season ended abruptly as well.

But their absences provided room for a host of underclassmen to take advantage of the abundant on-field minutes. That collection of players stepped up, Cotter said. And as much as the season was defined by the team’s stout defensive performance — Hanover recorded 12 clean sheets, a mark that tied the 2012 team for most in the program’s D-I tenure — it was also characterized by the group’s resilience and fight.

That’s a testament to the team’s captains, Cotter said, especially senior holding midfielder Charlie Forbush.

Forbush, who Grabill billed as “the guy in the engine room,” was Hanover’s glue. He linked the attack and defense and sparked the moments of transition Wednesday night. He was also the team’s most vocal player.

“He’s not the flashiest player out there, but he works his butt off every game,” Cotter said of Forbush. “And I think the freshman and younger guys see this as an expectation. It’s not just Charlie, we all have to do it. That just propelled everyone to work harder in practice, lift harder, run (harder), whatever it is.”

That consistent work ethic helped propel the Bears’ seventh consecutive state semifinal berth, winning nine of their last 10 games before the loss to Bedford. Although deep postseason runs may appear routine at this point, it’s anything but, Grabill said. 

The emotions poured out among Hanover’s players upon the match’s conclusion as players wept in each other’s arms. Grabill said the bench may have been the saddest he’s ever seen, an indication of the “trust in the room.”

On the bus ride back to Hanover, Grabill inquired with one of his freshmen about why they were so sad. The Bears’ boss believed he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it directly from the underclassman. The response? He was sad for the seniors.

“Each of these individual journeys, each season, has its own story,” he said. “But what these seniors have done for us, the legacy that they leave. … We’ve got a team of young players who need that kind of inspiration.”

Hanover held a team meeting Thursday afternoon in the wake of the loss. It served as an opportunity for the team to gather together one more time and vote on awards for the postseason banquet. It also provided a chance to begin preparing for next season, including voting on the captains for the 2025 team.

Recalling the words of German soccer manager Dettmar Cramer, Grabill said “the last day of the season is the first day of the season.” The question has already become: How do the Bears get back?

“Now they know what it tastes like,” Ames said of the freshman class. “So they’ve got to go capture it. They’ve got three years to do it, and I want them to do it all three.”

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.