September 13, 2017 at 2:15 p.m.
Soaring past the Eagles
Sabani's two goals give Hodags 3-1 win in battle of GNC unbeatens
Soaring past the Eagles
The junior scored twice in less than two minutes just shy of the hour mark and the Hodags knocked off the Northland Pines Eagles 3-1 Tuesday at Mike Webster Stadium.
Sabani rifled a left-footed shot inside the box past Pines keeper Burke Anderson in the 56th minute and struck again in the 58th minute on another shot through traffic less than 15 yards from the goal.
"I just took my chances," Sabani said. "I kept working for it, I just took it and it went in."
Sabani was a difference maker for the Hodag offense Tuesday. He made a dynamic run down the right touch line and outmaneuvered two Northland Pines defenders to set up Matthew Von Oepen for the equalizing goal in the 16th minute. Rhinelander controlled the contest the rest of the way.
"Jonus is just a workhorse," Hodag coach Dan Millot said. "He was getting double- and triple-teamed the entire night from Pines. It was a physical game for him and it was really nice to see him, one, survive that and, two, show why he's probably, in my opinion, the best player in the conference."
Added Sabani: "You've just got to keep fighting for it. You've got to have a big heart. You can never let down, let your opponents get on top of you. You've just got to keep playing."
Lochlan Siegmeier scored for Northland Pines on a counterattack off a long through ball by Dawson Hogenmiller in the sixth minute of the match. Siegmeier gained possession less than 30 yards from the goal, beat one Hodag defender and then juked out keeper Josh Randolph leading to an easy tap-in finish.
"They moved the ball well on us to start the game," Millot said. "I think it took us a little bit to settle in. I think we had a whole different attitude about the game when we let them score upon us. I think the rest of the game we pretty much shut them down."
Rhinelander rose to the occasion following the Siegmeier goal, and the Hodags controlled possession much of the match. The stats were lopsided in Rhinelander's favor. The Hodags had a 25-12 edge in shots, a 10- 4 advantage in shots on goal and a 10-2 edge in corner kicks.
But with Siegmeier and Hogenmiller up top, Northland Pines possessed enough speed to present a constant threat to the Hodag defense on the counterattack. Millot said he adjusted personnel to put more speed in his back four as the match went on to neutralize the threat.
"We tried to force the ball to the outside and tried not to let them see the service and who they were serving the ball to," Millot said. "They definitely had more opportunities in the first than the second half."
Both teams entered the night at 3-0-0 in the GNC. The win gives the Hodags a one-game lead in the conference over the Eagles and Medford, which improved to 3-1 in the GNC with a 5-2 win over Antigo Tuesday.
The Hodags travel to Stetsonville to take on Medford Thursday.
"It's nice to remain unbeaten at the top of the conference," Millot said. "There's a long road ahead still. It's going to be anybody's conference at the end. I keep telling the guys, we take one game at a time. We can't overlook any single opponent in this conference."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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