August 28, 2017 at 2:04 p.m.
Hodag soccer goes 2-0-1 in home invite
Hodag soccer goes 2-0-1 in home invite
The story of the three games boiled down to Rhinelander's ability to convert its scoring opportunities. The Hodags struggled to finish Friday afternoon and needed a pair of goals on either side of the halftime break to down Ironwood, Mich. 3-1. Rhinelander had no such struggles in Saturday's first game and defeated Wausau East 4-0 despite being outshot. The Hodags began to misfire on opportunities again against Iron Mountain and needed a late goal to salvage a 1-1 draw.
"Overall, I'm quite pleased with the weekend," Hodag coach Dan Millot said. "We started to read each other better I thought. I thought our game against Wausau East was definitely the best game we played all year so far. I think the game we tied against Iron Mountain, we definitely had the control of play I think for the majority of the game - not all the game. They had some nice attacking opportunities but I think we need to finish more of our opportunities in the attacking third."
RHS 3, Ironwood 1
The Hodags got a pair of goals from Matthew Von Oepen and one from Hunter Hicks to fend off Ironwood 3-1 to kick off the tournament Friday.
The Hodags controlled play, outshooting the Red Devils 37-9, but had a difficult time finishing scoring opportunities. Only 12 of Rhinelander's 37 shots finished on goal and another five clanged off the goalposts.
"You hit five posts, you miss a PK. It was just one of those games," Millot said.
Von Oepen got a drop pass from Nicholas St. Pierre for a finish at the top of the 18 in the 12th minute, before ringing a shot off the frame of the goal later in the first half. Jonus Sabani also hit the woodwork in the first half before Ironwood drew level on a 32nd-minute goal by Ian Hughes, who got the ball at midfield and sprinted toward the Hodag goal on the counterattack.
Sabani hit the crossbar later in the half and then hit the post again on a penalty kick with about five minutes remaining in the opening half. It appeared the Hodags were going to go to halftime level before keeper Josh Randolph punted the ball deep and found a streaking Hicks behind the defense. The junior did the rest to put the Hodags ahead 2-1 just before intermission.
Von Oepen scored again near the top of the 18-yard box off an assist by Sabani in the 51st minute to five the Hodags some extra breathing room.
RHS 4, Wausau East 0
All the opportunities Sabani and the Hodags missed Friday afternoon they converted in Saturday's first match of the day against Wausau East.
Sabani had a hat trick, including a score off a penalty kick, as the Hodags blanked the Lumberjacks 4-0.
Unlike Friday's game, when the Hodags controlled play virtually the entire 90 minutes, Wausau East had the better at play at times throughout the contest and outshot the Hodags 17-12 in the match.
Rhinelander, however, had the scoring touch in the finishing third of the field.
It started in the seventh minute when freshman forward Hugh Wiese gained control of the ball just inside the half line, squeaked past both of East's center backs and defeated the keeper on a 1-on-0 breakaway.
Wiese, despite giving up height and weight to virtually every defender he faced, wasn't afraid to mix it up with opponents' back lines as he battles for a spot in Rhinelander's attack.
"That's one of the reasons he's at where he's at. He's not afraid," Millot said. "He's not afraid to compete. He's got nice ball skills, he stays composed on the field, he wants to get better and he's coachable. That's extremely important."
Sabani scored in similar fashion in the 26th minute as he intercepted a ball near midfield and raced the rest of the way to goal on a breakaway. Sabani used his speed again in the 31st minute with a dynamic run up the left touch line. He cut inside toward goal near the byline, had an initial shot from roughly 15 yards saved, but was first to the rebound for a tap-in that put the Hodags ahead 3-0.
It stayed that way until the 62nd minute when Sabani was tripped from behind just inside the Wausau East penalty area and made the subsequent penalty kick.
"I thought Jonus was striking the ball well today and he demands such respect from other teams that it's going to be critical that other players step up and take care of business as well," Millot said.
Both teams registered seven shots on goal in the match. Randolph recorded seven saves in Rhinelander's first shutout of the year.
RHS 1, Iron Mountain 1
After a scoreless first half, the Hodags found themselves trailing moments into the second against the Mountaineers and needed a 78th-minute tally from Sabani to avoid their first loss of the weekend.
Iron Mountain scored less than a minute into the second in rainy conditions as Randolph could not hang onto a slick ball shot from the top of the 18, which slipped into the Hodag net.
The Hodags played from behind for most of the second until Von Oepen slotted a ball to Sabani at the top of the 18. Sabani did the rest and squared the match.
"It's key that we didn't give up," Millot said. "We kept going at it. After that goal, the ball was pretty much on our attacking end of the field. They had some transition opportunities but, when you talk about time on the ball, I mean we had time on the ball. Again, we just need to do something with it."
The Hodags had the better of play most of the match, outshooting the Mountaineers 23-14 overall and 11-7 in shots on goal. That included a couple of near misses for the Hodags in the first half. In the seventh minute, Sabani sent a cross through the box that nearly resulted in an own goal as the ball deflected off an Iron Mountain defender and skirted just wide of the back post. Martin Hoger got on the end of a Sabani cross later in the half and sent a header just inches wide of the post.
Rhinelander spent a majority of the match in the attacking third and took 17 corner kicks, but was unable to convert on any of the set-piece opportunities.
Next up for the Hodags is the Great Northern Conference opener against Antigo tonight at Mike Webster Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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