July 3, 2018 at 12:33 p.m.
Team review: RHS girls' soccer
Near misses kept a good season from being great for Hodags
Team review: RHS girls' soccer
For the first time since 2011, the Great Northern Conference championship trophy resides somewhere other than Rhinelander. Ashland took it away from the Hodags with a 1-0 win May 15 on Rhinelander's own pitch.
Still, the Hodags had a chance at redemption, and to one-up Ashland, by earning their third berth in the WIAA state tournament in the last five years. That, ultimately, went awry too as the Hodags fell to Rice Lake 2-1 in the WIAA Division 3 sectional finals.
"When we look at the goals we had set at the beginning of the season, did we accomplish all those goals? Absolutely not," RHS girls' soccer coach Dan Millot said last month during the team's season-ending banquet. "But, we had fun along the way. We learned a lot about each other. We learned a lot about some very important life lessons. As a team, we had to overcome some obstacles and make some adjustments. That's why we play. That's what we do. In the end, we had a successful season. It was successful and we should be proud of what we do as a team."
Here are five storylines from the Hodag soccer season.
The streak ends
Rhinelander knew from the outset that its margin for error in the Great Northern Conference would be slimmer this year, after a late spring thaw forced the conference to cancel the first half of the season and institute a single-round robin schedule for the remainder.
As it turned out, Rhinelander conceded only one goal all season to a conference opponent. But that goal proved costly.
A tally by GNC offensive player of the year Kaylee McPeak in the 21st minute proved to be the only scoring May 15 when Ashland knocked off Rhinelander at the RHS soccer fields.
After the game, Ashland celebrated on the field as if they had won the conference title. A couple wins later over lesser opponents and the Oredockers did just that.
"I had the team listen to that and we talked about it and I wanted them to remember what that feels like to have people celebrate on your field," Millot said after the game.
Scoring struggles
The stats were virtually dead even when Rhinelander and Ashland played.
When the Hodags and Rice Lake played for a trip to the state tournament, Rhinelander actually dominated the stat sheet - outshooting the Warriors 28-13 overall and 13-5 in shots on goal.
The problem, as it was throughout the season for the Hodags, was an inability to capitalize on quality scoring chances.
The most telling metric of Rhinelander's offensive struggles was its conversion rate of shots to goals, which checked in at 13.3 percent during conference play (34 goals on 225 total shots), well down from 21.1 percent (91 goals on 432 shots) last season.
"I think right now some of our players are really pressing, just a little tense when it comes to finishing because they want it so bad. They're just not playing relaxed," Millot said following a 4-0 win over Wausau Newman May 17 that underscored the Hodags' scoring woes. Rhinelander failed to score until a 76th minute against a team that finished toward the bottom of the conference standings.
Senior leadership
The two players who found the back of the net most often were the remaining two holdovers from Rhinelander's last state tournament team - seniors Alayna Franson and Anna Sturzl.
The two scored 47 goals between them and had another 35 assists. They underscored their remarkable careers with a game for the ages in the sectional semifinals against New London. Franson scored six times that night while Sturzl scored twice and had three assists.
"I think what they showed us this year is the chemistry that happens with players that players that play together for such a long time," Millot said.
The two were leaders both on the pitch and off for the Hodags.
"You have demonstrated, I think, what it means to be dedicated to the sport. You have demonstrated what it means to be leaders," Millot said, addressing both players. "Your work ethic - when you practice, when you play - is second to none. This team owes you a lot. The program owes you a lot for the examples that you have set."
In goal
Rhinelander started the season with its goalkeeper position influx yet again, breaking in its fifth different starter in as many years. By the end of the season, keeper turned into one of the most stable positions on the field for the Hodags.
Rhinelander had four players vying for minutes in goal and, once everything shook out, two handled the bulk of the minutes - senior Jada Appling and freshman Kahlie Arneson.
Arneson ultimately finished the season with better numbers, going 6-4-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .809 save percentage. But Appling more than held her own in what was, for the most part, a timeshare with Arneson.
Appling went 6-3 with a 1.85 goals against average and .714 save percentage. She took sole responsibility of the keeper position for most of the month of May when Arneson was sidelined twice under concussion protocol and earned honorable mention as a keeper in the GNC.
"We found a position where athletes competed," Millot said. "They actually competed for starting positions because they knew they were being challenged. It was great to see."
What's next
The Hodags will have a massive void to fill, especially up top next year. This year's senior class - led by Franson, Sturzl and Maddie Meyer (6 goals, 1 assist) - accounted for 54 percent of the goals the team scored this year.
Sophomore Izzy Haverkampf (14 goals, 1 assist) and freshman Ella Schiek (11 goals, 2 assists) are likely candidates to ascend into those roles next year as the Nos. 3 and 4 scorers for the Hodags this season. Millot also said during the banquet he would like to see junior-to-be Kenedy Van Zile (3 goals, 3 assists), who was a jack-of-all- trades this year take over Franson's role as an attacking midfielder.
Though Franson and Sturzl were the headliners, those two and Appling were the only seniors in Rhinelander's starting 11. A young defense led by juniors Brooke Mork, Payton Van Zile and freshman Gwen Lowry was stingy during conference play and, in Arneson, the Hodags could have stability in the keeper position that they haven't had since Morgan Voigt occupied the space between the posts from 2012-2014.
Millot challenged his team at the banquet and made clear that the goals next year will be to take care of this year's unfinished business - to win back the GNC crown and return to Milwaukee for the WIAA state tournament.
"The talent exists in this room to make that happen," he said. "We tried this year. We didn't fall short because we weren't the better team. We fell short because we made a few mistakes that were costly to us. So, you can decide that was good enough and that's as far as we can go, or you can decide to set goals for yourself in the future and say, 'You know what? We want to take this program back to the state tournament.' It rests on your shoulders."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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