September 27, 2017 at 12:49 p.m.
Hodags' comeback not enough, fall 4-3 to Everest in Hammer Game
Hodags' comeback not enough, fall 4-3 to Everest in Hammer Game
The Hodags erased a 3-0 deficit, but Tamirat Knutson's second goal of the match in the 80th minute proved to be the difference as the Evergreens defeated the Hodags 4-3 in the Hammer Game at the D.C. Everest Soccer Complex.
Knutson also converted a penalty kick in the 32nd minute that gave the Evergreens a three-goal cushion. The Hodags trimmed the margin to one by halftime, thanks to a pair of Jonus Sabani goals, and squared the match on senior Alec Lowry's first varsity goal in the 69th minute, but Everest fought back to retain the Hammer for the fifth straight time.
"We didn't play very well in the first half and when you go down 3-0, you've got to give yourself a gut check," RHS coach Dan Millot said. "We played a hell of a game in the second half. We played a lot better. We stepped up and we played."
Knutson got free in transition along the left flank, outraced the defense into the box and converted a 1-on-0 chance against keeper Josh Randolph with 10:02 remaining. Millot said the Hodags were caught pressing offensively when Knutson went on the counterattack. At that point, however, Millot said the Hodags were playing for the win rather than a draw.
"For the Hammer itself, for the trophy this game was for, a tie doesn't get us the trophy," Millot said, noting Everest would have retained the Hammer even with a draw because it won the last playing of the rivalry game back in 2015. "You want to go and you want to try to win."
It appeared Everest was going to make a laugher of the contest in the first half hour, outpossessing the Hodags by a wide margin in the first third of the match.
The Evergreens struck first in the 17th minute as Kole Brecke put home a rebound off a Jordan Thao shot that clanged off the left post. Brecke scored again just 44 seconds later, getting behind the Hodag defense on a chip pass by Knutson inside the 18.
Rhinelander's Joseph Schmitz was called for a handball inside the 18-yard box at the 31:01 mark and Knutson converted the penalty kick to the top lefthand corner of the goal.
"I think out of their four goals, they actually earned one. The others ones were defensive mistakes." Millot said. "I think the PK was questionable, but it is what it is and you move on from it."
Rhinelander got a spark in the 38th minute as Sabani took a free kick from roughly 40 yards out, launched it over the D.C. Everest wall and bent it into the top righthand corner of the goal. Sabani scored again amid a little confusion in the final seconds of the first half. Everest committed a foul roughly 25 yards from goal and the referees stopped the clock to afford Sabani an opportunity at a free kick, which he tucked just inside the left crossbar, trimming the lead to 3-2.
The equalizer also came on a free kick after Sabani was fouled roughly 25 yards from goal along the near sideline. Lowry took the free kick and tucked it into the top right corner past keeper Ty Tretter.
"Fortunate for us, our set pieces worked tonight," Millot said. "Jonus had two and Alec had one. They were just well-placed shots and they kept us in the game.
"We had a very intense discussion at halftime about playing with heart, stepping up and taking on more responsibility. They started stepping to players today. They started winning the balls that they should have been winning in the first half. We just need to play 90 minutes that way."
Everest finished with an 18-13 edge in total shots and a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal. Josh Randolph made six saves in the loss for the Hodags.
The Evergreens improve to 8-4-0 since the trophy game's inception back in 2005 when the teams found an old sledge hammer laying near the benches prior to a Valley Conference contest. They've been playing for the Hammer ever since.
It was Rhinelander's third match against a Wisconsin Valley Conference opponent in the last 12 days, and fourth game against the Valley overall. Rhinelander is now 2-1-1 in those matches against the Division 1 and 2 schools, something Millot believes will help bolster the Hodags' resume when it comes time to seed Rhinelander's Division 3 bracket.
The Hodags return to action Thursday night as they travel to Minocqua to take on Lakeland. Rhinelander defeated the T-Birds 3-0 on Aug. 31.
"Lakeland's a better team than their record indicates," Millot said. "They're dangerous. They have some dangerous players and we need to play Lakeland as well or better than we played them the last time we played them. We have to play Lakeland as well as we played the second half here tonight."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at River Valley Bank Field.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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