May 3, 2017 at 2:58 p.m.
Franson scores five, Hodags rout Lakeland 10-0
Franson scores five, Hodags rout Lakeland 10-0
It was 26 days ago that Rhinelander opened its soccer season with a 3-1 win at Lakeland Union High School.
The two squads met again Tuesday at Mike Webster Stadium as part of Rhinelander's annual breast cancer awareness game.
It didn't take long to see that the two teams are currently heading in different directions as Rhinelander didn't need the full 90 minutes to defeat Lakeland 10-0.
"I did not expect the result that we got tonight," RHS head coach Dan Millot said. "I talked to the girls before the game about playing for 90 minutes, and we had the tendency recently to start out strong and finish slow or start slow and finish strong. I said, 'Tonight I just want some consistency' and I think you saw a lot of consistency tonight. I think we connected a lot of passes, we worked the ball well, the defense didn't give up much and I thought, overall, position to position, it was a well-played game."
The Lady Hodags entered the contest as winners of eight in a row, while the Thunderbirds were looking to bounce back from a 6-0 loss to Northland Pines last week.
Rhinelander scored its goals in bunches and the first bunch gave it control in the first half.
Alayna Franson got the scoring started with a shot from the top of the box in the 17th minute. Brooke Mork scored three minutes later and Franson added another three minutes after that for the third goal in roughly six minutes.
Franson would get the hat trick in a span of 13 minutes, deflating Lakeland in the process, as it was 5-0 at halftime.
"I'm just glad that we continued to play," Millot said. "Even when we made some wholesale substitutions, the girls that came in stepped up with intensity and continued to play hard."
Franson finished the night with five goals, including the goal that invoked the mercy rule with 7:30 to play in the game.
The junior has been on a torrid pace as Rhinelander's eight-game winning streak has coincided with Franson scoring in each of those eight games.
"At the start of the season I wasn't as confident with the ball," Franson said. "But as the games went on, my teammates have helped me set up some really nice plays and we're getting real confident as a team and our chemistry is getting better as the weeks go by. I feel like that just helps it overall."
Mork would add another goal in the second half on a beautiful pass from Anna Sturzl, who had set up Izzy Haverkampf for her second of the night just 15 minutes earlier.
Sydney Zettler also added a goal, while Albiona Sabani had an assist.
Wins are always nice, but Millot said getting this type of win against a quality opponent was particularly nice on Breast Cancer Awareness Night.
The Lady Hodags wore pink jerseys and played with a pink ball in the game.
"This is one of the public service events that we do," Millot said. "It's meaningful for the girls and for our community and for people in general. The girls want to do these special events. Public awareness for different issues is important to them and the one thing we try to do as a team is give back to our community. This is just one of the ways to do it because they give so much to us."
Abby Oettinger made six saves in the win for Rhinelander (9-2, 6-0 GNC).
The Lady Hodags still technically sit in second place behind Ashland in the Great Northern Conference standings due to points, but they are the only unbeaten team left in the conference. The Oredockers played to a 3-3 draw with Northland Pines Tuesday in Ashland.
Rhinelander is back in action this evening with a trip to Medford at 5 p.m.
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @SabatoNick.
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