May 25, 2018 at 1:29 p.m.
Seniors shine for Hodags in soccer regular season finale
Seniors shine for Hodags in soccer regular season finale
With not much other than pride on the line, the Hodags turned their regular season final finale over to their senior class, which stood out in an 8-0 victory over Antigo at the RHS soccer fields.
Ashland wrapped up the Great Northern Conference title earlier in the evening with an 8-0 win at Wausau Newman so Millot said he was more concerned about making sure all of his seniors got significant minutes. For a handful of those seniors who won't make the playoff varsity roster, Thursday night was their final game in a Hodag uniform.
"The fact that they were able to get on the field and play in a varsity game and have that experience, it's always been important to me to make sure that happens within our program," Millot said. "Sometimes it's not all about the game, it's about the experiences you're allowed to have."
Seniors had a hand in all eight goals Rhinelander scored. Lauren Rosendahl got her first career varsity goal, scoring in the 41st minute, while Elizabeth Glut and Maria Kipper recorded their first varsity assists in the match.
Rhinelander led 5-0 at halftime and tacked on three more over the final 45 minutes as they outshot the Red Robins 48-1 in the match.
"It was a basically a game of fun, go out and enjoy your last conference game," Millot said. "Both objectives were met. Seniors got a lot of playing time. Some more than others. A lot of it was just based on how long some of the kids have played together, how long they've been in the program."
Anna Sturzl finished with a hat trick in the game and Alayna Franson scored once. Both senior captains had several opportunities to pad their stat lines against a lesser Robins' side, but passed up quality scoring chances in an effort to get other team members a look at scoring in a varsity contest.
"When I look at some of the passes being made today by Alayna Franson and Anna Sturzl, they're captains for a reason. They understand what's at stake," Millot said.
Another senior, Maddie Meyer, added two goals in the contest and assisted on Brooke Mork's capper in the 82nd minute.
Despite an up-and-down regular season that concluded with a 9-6-0 record and Rhinelander's first runner-up finish in the GNC since 2011 after a string of six straight conference titles, the Hodags drew the No. 1 seed for the WIAA playoff and will open the tournament at home next Thursday against Waupaca.
Millot didn't worry about that Thursday night, using the contest as a celebration of his senior class rather than a final dress rehearsal for the postseason.
"Now it's about working on the playoffs," he said after the game.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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