June 11, 2018 at 12:28 p.m.
Destiny denied
Rice Lake ends Rhinelander's playoff run, beats Hodags 2-1 in sectional final
Destiny denied
Rice Lake scored twice in the first 31 minutes and held on to defeat Rhinelander 2-1 in a WIAA Division 3 sectional final at Heidi Friermood Field in Hayward. The Warriors earned their second straight trip to the state tournament while denying Rhinelander its first trip to Milwaukee since 2015.
All the key metrics - shots, shots on goal, corner kicks and time of possession - favored the Hodags in the match, but goals by Callie McCullough and Sarah Weber in the first half proved to be too much for Rhinelander to overcome.
Simply put, Rice Lake was able to capitalize more with its few scoring chances than the Hodags were with their plethora of opportunities.
"I don't think the better team won today, but the team that committed the least mistakes, crucial mistakes, won today," Rhinelander coach Dan Millot said. "We didn't put the ball in the back of the net enough and we let too many in. It basically comes down to that."
Sarah Weber got free along the left touch line in the 17th minute and sent a late cross to McCullough who deflected the ball into the goal, Rice Lake's first sign of life following an opening quarter hour that was dominated by the Hodags. In the first 10 minutes alone, the Hodags had three good looks from seniors Anna Sturzl and Alayna Franson sail over the crossbar and had a couple of chances snuffed out following corner kicks.
"We had shooting opportunities. Again, we hit the keeper too many times. We had some set piece opportunities that we didn't capitalize on," Millot said. "When we had that defensive miscue that kind of took the wind out of our sails right away. That goal kind of equalized the effort and the pressure. I think some kids were mad at themselves. We mentally didn't recover from that."
Rice Lake doubled its lead when Sarah Weber gained the ball in transition entering Rice Lake's attacking third of the field. From there, she split sisters Kenedy and Payton Van Zile and beat keeper Kahlie Arneson in a one-on-one breakaway.
"Their goals were just a matter of two defenders stepping at the same time and they didn't win the ball," Millot said. "When that happens, and the ball gets behind us and it's not (good). Kahlie, she had a nice game today, positionally. One of the goals caught her wrong-footed. When the defenders made the mistake she was wrong-footed."
Rhinelander halved the lead in the 57th minute in a sequence initially set up when freshman Haylee Campbell got free on a breakaway, and had a shot deflected out of play by Rice Lake keeper Brooke Olson. Sturzl sent a cross into the box off the ensuing corner kick that slipped through Olson's hands and to an awaiting Ella Schiek for a tap-in.
Otherwise, the second half for Rhinelander was spent waiting for a goal that never came - but not for a lack of opportunities.
Before Schiek scored, she missed high on a Gwyn Lowry cross in the 47th minute and deflected a cross off a corner kick wide right on a header attempt in the 50th minute. Franson also had a look in the 52nd minute that she put straight on the keeper for an easy save.
The best chance for the Hodags to tie the game came in the 62nd minute when Franson sent Lowry on a run through the defense. Lowry got by the Rice Lake defense but tugged a shot from six yards away just wide of the left goalpost.
Kenedy Van Zile sent a ball into the box from the right flank in the 72nd minute for Sturzl, who redirected a shot high and wide right from 12 yards out.
Kenedy Van Zile was unable to get a clean strike on a Schiek shot in the 84th minute, which turned into an easy save for Olson and what proved to be Rhinelander's last best chance to square the match.
"I think our effort was there. I think we got a little gassed at the end and a lot of that is the adrenaline and playing from behind," Millot said. "It's a lot tougher to play from behind. It takes a lot more energy out of you."
Rhinelander outshot Rice Lake 28-15 overall and 13-5 in shots on goal, but that was of little solace for the Hodags afterward.
"They took advantage of those opportunities and we found the goalie more than we should have tonight," Millot said. "It's not that she moved today to make in great saves because she didn't. We hit her. I don't think she had to move once to make any of the saves she made today. We just didn't execute."
Rhinelander's season ends with a record of 12-7-0. The Hodags did not win a game all season in which they conceded a goal. All 12 of Rhinelander's wins were shutouts.
It was also a bitter ending for a senior class - led by Franson and Sturzl - that was looking to end its high school career at the state tournament, where they played as freshmen.
"I'm proud of those two. They really stepped up and carried this team in an unpredictable season. They're very decorated athletes and it's been a pleasure to coach them," Millot said. "We're a young team. We're definitely losing some senior firepower and some seniors that controlled a lot of our games this year. But I said what are they going to do to step up. They have an opportunity to be a good team in the future but players need to step up."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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