October 10, 2018 at 12:39 p.m.
Hodag soccer routs Robins 11-1 on senior night
Hodag soccer routs Robins 11-1 on senior night
Matthew Von Oepen scored four times and the Hodags invoked the mercy rule, defeating the Red Robins 11-1 at the RHS soccer fields.
Harrison Shinners ended the proceedings with a goal in the 68th minute, the Hodags sixth during a second-half barrage in the final home game of the regular season.
Tuesday's game was about recognizing the senior class. All of the seniors in attendance started the game and the senior class was responsible for nine of the team's 11 goals.
"I'm very proud of the seniors and their accomplishments, their dedication," said RHS assistant soccer coach Richard Kotula, who was acting head coach this week with Dan Millot away attending to a family obligation. "(Today) it was all about them and the team understood that. I'm proud of the team to step up and make the senior night memorable for them."
Von Oepen had another huge night for Rhinelander, scoring three times in the first half as the Hodags built a 5-0 lead by intermission. He scored again in the 51st minute and drew a foul that set up a Freddy Wisner penalty kick goal in the 56th minute.
"Matthew is an amazing smart player," Kotula said. "His skill set and his vision is above anything else that we can see on a soccer field. You can see him always thinking. His eyes are up. He's making decisions that don't create turnovers. He's making decisions that create good opportunities for his teammates and, of course, he's creating scoring decisions. Today was one of those games where his smart approach and his thinking made for success for him and the team."
Wisner scored again later in the second half and Josh Randolph, normally the team's starting goalkeeper, recorded a pair of goals as well. Like he did in the game at Antigo, Randolph was given the opportunity to play in the field while freshman Gavin Ostermann played keeper. Randolph made the most of his chance, scoring the Hodags' opening goal in the fifth minute and adding a second tally in the 65th.
"He's a talented player, an athlete that can do whatever is asked of him," Kotula said. "He loves to
play in the field. He's an excellent goalkeeper, but he also has the skill set to play in the field. It's a wonderful weapon to have that."
The Hodags seemed a little sluggish out of the gate against the last-place Robins. Randolph's fifth-minute goal was the only tally by the Hodags until Von Oepen's first goal in the 21st. Hunter Hicks put home a rebound of a Von Oepen shot in the 31st minute, and Von Oepen scored again in the 33rd and 36th minutes to give Rhinelander a five-goal advantage.
Antigo got on the board in the 48th minute as Jared McFarlane slotted a ball to Garrett Husnick, who slipped it past Ostermann. It was the only goal Ostermann allowed as he made six saves in the match.
Von Oepen answered in the 51st minute and the Hodags busted open the floodgates from there.
"We weren't able to finish in the beginning, but then finally it picked up. And once it picked up, it just kept going," Kotula said.
Sophomore Hugh Wiese also scored during the Hodags' strong second half.
Rhinelander (6-5-3, 4-3-2 Great Northern) closes out the regular season tonight at Medford in a game that will likely carry significant seeding implications ahead of next week's WIAA playoffs. The Hodags scored nine second-half goals to beat the Raiders 9-2 back on Sept. 13.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.