April 21, 2017 at 1:59 p.m.
Lady Hodags down Ashland 2-1 in battle of GNC unbeatens
Lady Hodags down Ashland 2-1 in battle of GNC unbeatens
Both teams entered the evening unbeaten in conference play, while the Oredockers had yet to suffer a defeat all season.
That changed Thursday night as Alayna Franson continued her torrid offensive pace with a pair of goals and the Hodags held off the Oredockers 2-1 at Mike Webster Stadium.
It was the incumbent GNC stalwarts that gained the upper hand early, as Franson scored both of her two goals in a three-minute stretch midway through the first half to put the Hodags ahead.
Rhinelander (5-2-0, 4-0-0 Great Northern) dominated the majority of the first half. Then the wind and rain picked up and so did Ashland's play.
The Oredockers (5-1-2, 4-1-0 GNC) played the Lady Hodags evenly, if not outplaying them at times and finally got on the board in the 84th minute.
Rhinelander held firm, however, withstanding a late flurry in the waning moments of the game to come away with a win that makes the Hodags the lone unbeaten in GNC play.
"I think Ashland definitely played better in the second half," RHS head coach Dan Millot said. "I think we played one of our best first halves of soccer this year. In the first half we connected passes, we were patient. Definitely the weather in the second half - all of a sudden it began to rain, the wind picked up, it was at Ashland's back and we had trouble with the wind. They started to go after things in the second half. They're a good team, they really are. Luckily we could withstand their pressure in the second half. We had a defensive miscue, which resulted in a goal for them, but you have to give my girls credit from the standpoint, after they gave up that goal, they didn't get another chance."
In the first half, Franson was dynamic every time she got near the ball.
The junior created opportunities with her speed, which was a problem for a speedy Ashland team.
In the 18th minute, Izzy Haverkampf received a beautiful ball from Sydney Zettler, but put it off the post. Franson was there to clean it up and get on the board first.
Less than three minutes later, Brooke Mork sent a ball down the field and Franson outraced the Ashland defenders for a breakaway goal.
It's just par for the course for Franson as of late. She has scored or assisted on each of Rhinelander's last 12 goals dating back to an assist on the game-winner against Northland Pines last Thursday.
"She's been playing excellent," Millot said. "The Ashland coach (Johnny BeBeau) said, 'She's the real deal.' She possesses the ball, she sees the field and she's probably the most solid player we have."
Ashland got its goal from its most dynamic scorer, Kaylee McPeak, but it was not enough.
Rhinelander is now the only unbeaten team in the conference. There is still a lot of soccer to be played, but picking up a win against a good team always feels good, particularly with starters Anna Sturzl and Lauren Fabich sidelined with injuries.
"There's a lot of soccer to be played," Millot said. "What's really nice is we're still missing two key players that would probably be in the starting lineup right now. The fact that we've had people step up and we've been putting the puzzle together one player at a time - it's important that we continue to do that and we're going to have to do that in order to be successful until we get these players back."
While the Lady Hodags sit atop the GNC standings, it was Ashland that handed them their last conference defeat, snapping at 49-game conference win streak last May.
It's a different year and a different team, and Millot claims that last year's loss played no factor in the minds of his players.
"We're definitely not a team that worries about stats and statistics. We really aren't," Millot said. "We're playing this year one game at a time. We're looking to put 'Ws' in the win column. Our goal is to win a conference championship and you've got to beat teams like Ashland in order to do it. Then we have a goal to get as far as we can in the state tournament. We just need to keep improving game-to-game and practice-to-practice to make sure we're playing our best soccer at the end of the season."
Abby Oettinger made six saves in goal for Rhinelander (5-2-0, 4-0-0 GNC).
The Lady Hodags will be back in action on Tuesday with a trip to Wausau Newman.
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @SabatoNick.
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