June 15, 2018 at 12:44 p.m.
Franson, Sturzl take home top honors at girls' soccer banquet
Franson, Sturzl take home top honors at girls' soccer banquet
Franson was recognized as the team's player of the year and offensive MVP while Sturzl won the team's dedication award during a banquet Thursday at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom.
Franson and Sturzl accounted for virtually half of the Hodags' offense this year. Franson finished with 27 goals and 20 assists while Sturzl had 20 goals and 14 helpers. The two were called up together during Thursday's banquet as the team's only four-time letter winners this season and the lone remaining varsity holdovers from Rhinelander's last WIAA state tournament appearance back in 2015.
"These two ladies have been playing soccer, since probably the age of 4 or 5," Hodag coach Dan Millot said during the banquet. "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.
"You have demonstrated, I think, what it means to be dedicated to the sport. You have demonstrated what it means to be leaders. 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."
Seniors took home the lion's share of the awards presented by the team on Thursday, seven of the 10 honors handed out overall. Jada Appling won the team's Hodag Strong Award, Maddie Meyer was voted the team's most improved player while Carly Seidl and Rachel Uhlarik shared the team's academic excellence award.
Appling entered the season battling freshman Kahlie Arneson for the starting goalkeeper position and ended up taking the lion's share of the minutes while Arneson battled a series of injuries. Appling finished with a 6-3-0 record, a 1.85 goals against average and three solo shutouts on the season.
"Time and time again you stepped it up for this team," Millot said. "You received all-conference recognition for your role. When it comes to improvement and how hard you worked, it was second to none."
Meyer's six goals were the sixth most on the team this year as she provided a spark off the bench.
"You look at the GNC stats and goals scored, she's up in the top 12 in our conference," Millot said. "You talk about somebody coming off the bench and giving you quality minutes. That's what she did. She was the ultimate role player."
Seidl and Uhlarik won the academic excellence award as the two senior players with the highest cumulative grade point average. According to Millot, Seidl finished with a 4.27 GPA, Uhlarik was at 4.209 and both finished in the top 10 of the RHS Class of 2018.
Other awards on the night went to freshman Gwyn Lowry, sophomore Kenedy Van Zile and junior Payton Van Zile.
Lowry was voted the team's Rookie of the Year for stepping in as a freshman and anchoring a defense that posted 12 shutouts and allowed 1.63 goals per game overall.
"She's probably one of the smartest players on our team when it comes to the cognitive ability to read the game," Millot said. "What Gwyn did for us this year is she stepped into a vacated varsity position on defense. We had a young defense and she did an excellent job."
Payton Van Zile was also a key part of that defensive unit and, according to Millot was the team's most consistent player and its best one-on-one defender.
"She shut down the best players on other teams," he said. "She does not get beat. For a coach, and a team to be able to count on some to shut people down like that, she did a great job."
Kenedy Van Zile, Payton's younger sister, scored three goals and had three assists while playing nearly every spot on the field at some point during the season. Millot said she will be relied upon next season to help fill the scoring void left by Franson and Sturzl's departure.
"When it comes sheer knowledge of the game, reading the game as it comes at you, the speed, the tenacity in which she plays and the way she handles the ball, basically I told her, 'Your challenge is to replace Alayna Franson,'" he said.
Rhinelander finished 12-7-0 on the season. The team finished second in the Great Northern Conference, a game behind Ashland, snapping a six-year string of conference titles. The Hodags also fell one game shy of the WIAA state tournament, losing to Rice Lake 2-1 in the 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. But, we had fun along the way," Millot said. "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."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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