June 4, 2018 at 1:50 p.m.
Midway to Milwaukee
Hodag soccer routs Medford 10-0 in regional finals
Midway to Milwaukee
Brooke Mork recorded a hat trick and the floodgates opened late in the first half for the Hodag offense as they defeated Medford 10-0 in a WIAA Division 3 regional final.
The Hodags scored four times in the final 6:02 of the first half to open up a 6-0 advantage. The reserves got into the scoring act after Mork scored her third in the 59th minute and Kenedy Van Zile ended it via the 10-goal rule on a breakaway goal with 6:39 to play.
Rhinelander dominated on its way to its fourth regional title in five years. The Hodags outshot the Raiders 61-2 and didn't concede a shot on goal until after the hour mark of the contest.
"I thought we started to move the ball well, started to figure out their defense, started to freeze the keeper," Hodag coach Dan Millot said. "We had some nice slotted balls, some nice finishes tonight. We just need that to continue."
Millot promised some personnel adjustments heading into the postseason and the most notable was a switch that moved Mork from center back to striker and Kenedy Van Zile from outside midfield to center back.
The two bookended the scoring for the Hodags in the match as they adjusted to their new roles.
"Kenedy is a better communicator back there right now than Brooke and Kenedy possesses a little more speed than Brooke does, but Brooke, she's got a nice shot," Millot said. "When her shot is on, it's a rocket. It's well-placed. She's getting more confidence every game. She hasn't played forward since middle school, other than sporadically. She's getting used to that position and it's nice to know that as some players are stepping up their game, we can move them around on the field."
Mork finished a pass into the box from Ella Schiek to get the Hodags on the board in the 12th minute. Rhinelander wouldn't score again until Schiek lofted a shot in from 25 yards in the 28th over Medford's compressed defense.
Finally, the Hodags found the crack in Medford's levy late in the first half. Mork put Alayna Franson on a run into the box on a 2-on-1 breakaway. Franson tapped a pass over to Izzy Haverkampf to put the Hodags up 3-0 in the 39th minute. Franson scored herself on a run through the Medford defense roughly a minute later. Mork and Franson each scored again before the halftime whistle to put the Hodags ahead 6-0.
"I thought we made some adjustments in the first half," Millot said. "When we started out slow, it was because we were losing balls in certain areas of the field. We made some personnel adjustments and we started to control the ball a lot more."
Mork finished her treble in the 59th minute on a shot in the box that deflected off a Medford player and inside the left post. At that point, Millot subbed all 10 field players out of the game and turned it over to the reserves.
A couple of freshmen kept up the scoring pace for the Hodags. Kat Metropulos scored her second goal of the postseason off the bench in the 67th minute after a nice cross from the flank by Jaden Olski put her on a breakaway. Another freshman, Haylee Campbell, scored her first career goal in the 76th minute, converting a rebound opportunity after her initial shot was blocked inside the Medford penalty area.
"Kat's was a nice finish. Haylee Campbell's was just an individual effort," Millot said. "I think she lost the ball twice, or took a shot in a it got deflected. She stayed with it through the box and ended up finishing with her left foot. It was a nice goal."
The Hodags reinserted some of the starters back into the contest late, albeit it in different positions. Franson, playing in the role of defensive midfielder, slotted a ball to Kenedy Van Zile for the breakaway goal that ended proceedings.
Rhinelander has outscored its first two playoff opponents by a combined 19-0, though Millot indicated his team's best soccer may still be ahead of it.
"We're still trying to find ourselves and we're getting better game by game," he said. "Certainly players are starting to pick up their game. Izzy Haverkampf is starting to pick up her game, and I think it took a little sitting down to realize that, 'I need to step up and start playing.' She is. She's definitely one of the players that's stepping up to the challenge right now."
Rhinelander will host second-seeded New London in a sectional semifinal match at 5 p.m. Thursday at the RHS soccer fields after the Bulldogs defeated Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia 5-1 on Saturday. The potential of a Rhinelander-Ashland GNC rematch remains in the sectional finals after the Oredockers defeated Somerset 2-1 Saturday in a regional final. Ashland will play the winner of the Hayward-Rice Lake match that was postponed to Monday due to inclement weather.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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