October 3, 2018 at 2:02 p.m.
Mosinee scores late PK to beat Hodags 5-4
Mosinee scores late PK to beat Hodags 5-4
Tim Goppel converted a penalty kick with 42 seconds remaining as Mosinee defeated Rhinelander 5-4 at Mike Webster Stadium.
Matthew Von Oepen scored four goals to rally the Hodags, who trailed 4-1 at one point early in the second half, but Rhinelander's valiant effort went for naught after the referees ruled Hodag center back Harrison Shinners committed a handball foul inside Rhinelander's penalty area when trying to block a shot in the final minute. From the press box and the Hodag sideline, the ball appeared to hit Shinners in the back of the hip, and not his hand.
"I didn't see the call. I didn't see the infraction," Rhinelander coach Dan Millot said. "It's unfortunate and, in this type of game, you just don't make that call that you don't see. It is what it is. He made the call and they were able to make the PK. I think it was just unfortunate.
"Mosinee played a good game. They moved the ball well. They took advantage of the opportunities that they had. I thought for sure, the way the momentum was going, we still had an opportunity to pull this one out, but that didn't happen. We had the one call that killed us at the end of the game."
On the penalty kick, Goppel caught Rhinelander keeper Josh Randolph leaning to keeper's right and calmly passed the ball past Randolph's left foot into the net for the game winner.
The Hodags outshot Mosinee 27-16 in the match, but trailed in the one stat that mattered.
Mosinee freshman Toren Holtz put Mosinee ahead 2-0 by halftime, scoring on goals in the 21st and 39th minutes. Cole Vandehey made it a 3-0 advantage for Mosinee in the 50th minute.
Rains Monday night and early Tuesday morning made an already soggy Mike Webster Stadium surface even more saturated and treacherous. Millot said the field played a role in a couple of Mosinee's goals.
"These field conditions are terrible. They're terrible," he said. "You look at the footing, for both teams, was bad. The one goal in the first half, Josh got caught slipping and it went in. Offense, in these types of environments, has the advantage because they really know what they want to do with the ball and the defense has to guess. The defense can't take any quick steps to get anywhere, so you've got to think about what you're doing there."
Von Oepen began Rhinelander's charge back in the 52nd minute, scoring off a Nicholas St. Pierre assist, but Goppel restored Mosinee's three-goal advantage in the 56th.
Von Oepen headed home a cross from Martin Hoger in the 58th minute, scored again in the 73rd and pulled the Hodags level as he headed home a Hoger corner kick in the 77th.
"Matthew, he's striking the ball well and one of my challenges to the team was that Matthew can't be that person all the time," Millot said. "Other kids have got to start to produce. We have to take some pressure off of them."
Rhinelander nearly took the lead in the 85th minute as Freddy Wisner chipped a ball to Hoger that caught Mosinee keeper Adam Moucha out of position. St. Pierre tried to finish off Hoger's tap, but Mosinee defender Ryan Walsh recovered to clear the ball away moments before it crossed the goal line.
About a minute later Wisner took a direct free kick from 40 yards that Moucha blocked with his knee.
Randolph made seven saves for Rhinelander, which was officially eliminated from conference championship contention with the defeat.
The Hodags host conference-leading Northland Pines this afternoon.
"Pines, they're playing well but they're not unbeatable," Millot said. "They make mistakes like everyone else. They're coming here and anything can happen on this field. I think sometimes the field itself is an equalizing factor, so we'll see how it goes."
Because of the sloppy field conditions, RHS has moved today's game against the Eagles to the RHS soccer fields. Both the varsity and JV matches will kick off at 4:15 p.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached [email protected].
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