October 27, 2017 at 12:58 p.m.
Anguish against Amherst
Hodags fall to Falcons 3-1, ending tourney run
Anguish against Amherst
Carson Sneller scored twice, and Lucas Hohn had a goal and a helper, as the Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia/Rosholt co-op knocked off the Hodags 3-1 in a WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal at the RHS soccer fields.
The Falcons amassed only 15 total shots - as many as Rhinelander had on goal in the match. The Hodags had 36 shots in all, but had two goals disallowed due to offsides, several other golden chances turned away and even a debated no-goal call early in the second half.
On the other side, Amherst got behind the Rhinelander defense four times in transition and made Rhinelander pay for three of those mistakes.
"We didn't execute our game plan and if we're going to beat good teams and if we want to continue to go further in these types of tournaments, then we need to execute the game plans we set out to do," Hodag coach Dan Millot said afterward.
Hohn and Sneller, a pair of juniors, wreaked havoc on the Hodags' back four with their speed. The two, and senior Luke Wright, worked a nice three-man passing combination to get Sneller behind the Hodag defense in the 17th minute. Sneller did the rest, beating Hodag keeper Josh Randolph to the left post to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead in front of a large traveling fan base.
Hohn was there on the back door after the Hodags failed to clear a breakaway attempt by Sneller on what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 67th minute. The roles reversed in the 86th minute when the Falcons netted the clincher. Hohn beat outside defender Darin Bloomquist down the near sideline and made a late pass to Sneller for a tap-in on a 2-on-1 breakaway.
"We knew it was coming," Millot said of Amherst's dangerous counterattack. "We just got lazy, unfortunately, at three very distinct times in this game. It cost us. We paid heavily for our mistakes."
Jonus Sabani scored what seemed to be a momentum-changing goal for the Hodags in the 48th minute, firing home a loose ball from 12 yards following a corner kick. Other than that, Rhinelander seemed to hit everything except the back of the net.
Matthew Von Oepen was whistled for offsides, negating what would have been an eighth-minute tally for the Hodags. A late offsides called denied Sabani a goal-scoring chance later in the first half, though he buried the ball anyway after the whistle blew.
Perhaps the wildest scrum came in the 54th minute following a Hodag corner kick. Several Hodags had a chance as the Falcons failed to clear their box. A Daniel Ritchie shot was tipped by keeper Devin Toth, ricocheted off the right goalpost and then bounced off crossbar. The Hodags celebrated what they thought was an apparent goal, but it was never awarded. Video and photographs of the play proved inconclusive in determining if the ball ever fully crossed the goal line. Even if they had, the call on the field would have stood as the officials were not permitted to review the play.
"I thought for sure we had one in the second half that didn't get called," Millot said. "We had one in the first half called back for offsides. You time those a little bit better and it's a whole different game."
Despite those near-misses the Hodags had several other chances to draw level in the second half and could not convert. Von Oepen had a straight on shot from 20 yards stopped by Toth in the 75th minute - one of 14 saves for the Amherst senior. Van Oepen then slipped in the 80th minute and was unable to redirect a Hugh Wiese cross inside the box.
Toth stonewalled a rocket shot by Sabani in the 83rd minute. Sabani finally beat Toth in the 85th minute, but even that went for naught as defender Lydon Wright raced in from behind to clear the potential game-tying shot off the goal line.
Alec Lowry missed wide right on a free kick chance from 20 yards and, moments later, Hohn raced down the field to dash the Hodags' hopes.
Millot said frustration mounted as the scoring opportunities were denied and the clock began to work against his side.
"We started forcing things and started getting compact with too many guys pushing forward and we lost control of the midfield," he said. "We had to possess the ball and keep possession of the ball and we didn't do a very good job of that. We gave the ball away too many times in the midfield and that hurt us."
Amherst goes on to face ninth-ranked Amery in a sectional final Saturday in Rice Lake. The Hodags finish the season with a 16-4-2 record and their first regional title since 2008. Millot saluted his senior class following the loss.
"They were part of four conference championships, a regional championship and, when you look at the group, they were consistent players," he said. "We didn't have a lot of stars (in that class) and they did their part. They're a good group of guys. The one thing I can say about this team is it's a fantastic group of individuals and it's great to have them around."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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