September 18, 2017 at 4:21 p.m.
RHS soccer unbeaten at Everest Invite
RHS soccer unbeaten at Everest Invite
Rhinelander upended Wausau West 3-2 Friday and played to a 1-1 tie with Stevens Point Saturday in a multi-team invitational at the D.C. Everest Soccer Complex in Weston.
"I'm pleased with the results for the weekend, going up against two Division 1 schools," Hodag coach Dan Millot said. "The Wisconsin Valley Conference is tough and you take out the second-place team on a Friday night and, I think SPASH was in third or fourth place (fifth place, according to Wisconsin Valley Conference statistics). Regardless, they are two tough programs and they've been tough for years. It's good for us."
The games played out similarly for the Hodags, who jumped out to early leads, only to watch their opponents rally in the second half to tie the matches. Both opponents had the better of the statistics, in terms of shots and possessions, but the Hodags made the most of their opportunities over the weekend.
"We know what we have and we don't try to play above what we have," Millot said. "We just try to make what we have work for us. This weekend was a good opportunity to show that."
Rhinelander 3, Wausau West 2
A pair of first-half goals by Jonus Sabani gave the Hodags the lead and Hugh Wiese's goal in the 73rd minute proved to be the difference as the Hodags knocked off Wausau West Friday night.
"That game was pretty even, when you look at the stats," Millot said. "But they didn't have much for finishers. Yes, they scored two goals, but the two goals they scored were more from our mistakes than anything else."
Sabani got the scoring going in the ninth minute, when he got behind the Wausau West defense to give the Hodags an early lead. He made it 2-0 in the 31st minute on a service by Matthew Von Oepen on the counterattack.
West scored in the 39th minute to cut the lead to one before halftime and squared the match in the 57th minute.
Wiese, a freshman, got on the end of a Sabani cross in the 73rd minute and finished in traffic in front of the net.
"I think the keeper may have got his hand on it at one time, but Hugh was relentless and was able to tap it in," Millot said.
Wausau West outshot Rhinelander 23-17 in the match. Josh Randolph made 11 saves, all of which game before Wiese's go-ahead goal.
Rhinelander 1, Stevens Point 1
The Hodags went ahead at the quarter-hour mark Saturday against Stevens Point as Von Oepen tucked a shot just underneath the crossbar from the top of the 18 off a pass by Sabani.
From there, Rhinelander had to hold on against a SPASH side that had the better of possession, and a 27-10 edge in total shots.
"They actually had the better of play in the game. We did not play as well today as we played last night against Wausau West," Millot said. "I think part of it was fatigue, but we're not going to use that as an excuse because it was Stevens Point's second game of the day.
"They possessed the ball well and they've definitely got some kids that can handle the ball. We played really strong defense and really didn't allow much until late."
The Panthers tied the game on a header goal off a corner kick in the 61st minute. Randolph was called upon to make 10 saves in the match for the Hodags.
"SPASH, for the amount of shots they had, didn't really produce quality finishes tonight," Millot noted.
Rhinelander (9-2-2, 5-0-0 Great Northern) opens the second half of conference play on the road Thursday at Antigo.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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