May 4, 2018 at 12:36 p.m.
Hodag soccer takes down Medford 7-0
Hodag soccer takes down Medford 7-0
The team ran its winning streak to four games, and improved to 2-0-0 in GNC play, with a 7-0 victory over Medford Thursday at the RHS soccer fields.
Senior Alayna Franson had a big day with three goals and a pair of assists. Anna Sturzl and Izzy Haverkampf each scored twice as Rhinelander outshot Medford 44-1.
According to Millot, the rub was the overall lack of quality chances his side converted, despite the lopsided scoreline.
"We're not sharp right now and we need to be sharper before we play other teams in the conference. We'll continue to work on it," he said.
In particular, similar to what Medford coach Dan Felix did to Millot's Hodags during the boys' season, Rhinelander struggled against the congestion Medford created in front of its own goal.
"We did not do a very good job of adjusting to their nine-men in the box defense," Millot explained. "We kept trying to force things up the middle of the field. We had better opportunities when the ball was coming from the flanks. We just tend to force things against teams and tonight was no exception. We were trying to force things that didn't happen and weren't working and we didn't make adjustments fast enough."
Regardless, the Hodags struck quickly for the second straight match as Franson scored in the opening minute off an assist from Kenedy Van Zile. It took until the 25th minute, however, for Sturzl to find Rhinelander's second goal. Franson added a third in the 35th minute to give Rhinelander a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Haverkampf opened the second with a brace, scoring off assists from Franson in the 52nd and 63rd minutes. Franson completed her hat trick in the 78th minute and Sturzl rounded out the scoring with a goal assisted by Brooke more in the 83rd.
Of Rhinelander's 44 shots in the match, only 18 finished on goal, a rate Millot said he would like to see improve, especially given where the shots are coming from.
"We had good looks, really good looks," he said. "We've been working on finishing, to the point where we're working on it so hard it's becoming stressful. We just need to relax, back off of it, and don't emphasize it quite as much."
Medford did not manage a shot on goal or a corner kick in the match.
After a 10-0 loss to Bay Port dropped the Hodags to 0-2 on the season, Rhinelander has won four straight against GNC opponents by a combined score of 34-0. Games against Wausau Newman and Antigo last week were considered non-conference contests due to the conference's shortened season.
Next up for the Hodags is a matchup against Northland Pines Tuesday night in Eagle River.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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