May 2, 2018 at 1:44 p.m.
First half flurry propels Hodag soccer in GNC opener
First half flurry propels Hodag soccer in GNC opener
The Hodags began their quest for a seventh straight conference crown Tuesday with a 5-0 romp over Lakeland at River Valley Bank Field in Minocqua.
Rhinelander completed its scoring by the 34th minute and stifled any semblance of a Lakeland attack the entire night.
"We moved the ball really well in the first half and had some great scoring opportunities that we took advantage of," coach Dan Millot said. "I think, player for player, we possessed more speed than Lakeland did, which helped us."
Izzy Haverkampf and Alayna Franson each scored twice for the Hodags. Haverkampf had her brace by the seventh minute of the match thanks to an unassisted goal in the second minute and a tally off a cross from Anna Sturzl a short time later.
Franson doubled the lead with tallies in the 16th and 20th minutes before assisting on Maddie Meyer's goal in the 34th minute.
Millot said Rhinelander controlled the midfield and, as a result, controlled the match.
"Kenedy Van Zile and Alayna Franson in the middle dominated play," he said. "They controlled the middle of the field and worked well together. We had strong supporting players tonight all the way around - Anna, Izzy and Ella (Schiek) rounding out that offensive attack - but I think what allowed the offensive attack was how well our defense played tonight. We had some solid team defense tonight."
Though Lakeland was credited with six shots on goal, Millot said not much challenged his keepers, Kahlie Arneson and Jada Appling, who again split time.
"Defensively, we just played really well," he said. "The chemistry between Brooke Mork and Gwyn Lowry is getting better. The runs that Marissa Martin and Payton Van Zile are making up the flanks, it's all starting to come together."
The Hodags finished with 16 shots on goal in the match. Though the scoring chances didn't dry up after the 34th minute, Rhinelander had trouble putting together the finishing touches.
"In the second half we had plenty of shots, we just didn't finish them the way we did in the first half," said Millot, noting the team struggled with its first touch on the ball on Lakeland's artificial turf surface. "We had a lot of offensive pressure tonight and made it very difficult for Lakeland to work the ball out of the back."
The Hodags return to action this afternoon against Medford at the RHS soccer fields.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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