October 12, 2018 at 12:02 p.m.
Hodag soccer closes regular season with 2-1 win over Medford
Hodag soccer closes regular season with 2-1 win over Medford
Martin Hoger and Matthew Von Oepen hooked up for a pair of goals and the Hodags defeated Medford 2-1 at Raider Field to finish in sole possession of third place in the Great Northern Conference.
Cold conditions and brisk westerly winds greeted the Hodags, who played against the wind during the first half. Regardless, Rhinelander was able to do all of its scoring by the half-hour mark and keep Medford's speedy attackers in check.
"The conditions weren't to our favor in the first half but the guys, it didn't even faze them," said RHS assistant coach Richard Kotula, who is in charge of the team this week with head coach Dan Millot away attending to a family obligation. "It was amazing how the team played in those conditions, how they were able to attack and defend well."
Junus Telli put Medford ahead in the 13th minute, but the Hodags responded with two goals in the next 13 minutes and kept the Raiders at bay the rest of the night.
Both Rhinelander goals came in similar fashion on crosses near the perimeter of the 18-yard box. Von Oepen fed Hoger for the equalizer in the 20th minute. The roles reversed for what proved to be Von Oepen's game-winner in the 26th.
Kotula said working the ball to the outside was all part of the plan.
"We talked about it before the game that we can't go to the middle," he said. "Medford played the same game they played against us at home. They do a really nice job covering the middle. Our strategy was to move the ball to the outside. Therefore, Martin had to be very much involved and Matthew had to be involved and that's why they connected so well. They were moving the ball from the outside, in. It makes a huge difference compared to trying to stab the ball through the middle."
Telli was able to dribble around and outmaneuver the Hodag defense for his goal early in the match but, Rhinelander put the clamps of Telli, fellow speedster Onyi Ekwueme, and the Medford offense the rest of the way.
"Our defense did a phenomenal job again today," Kotula said. "(Anthony) Kowalski, with his speed, was able to take care of their two best players - No. 7 (Telli) and No. 18 (Ekwueme). Working together with Harry (Shinners) to switch the defense roles depending on what type of pressure they were putting on us. Our outside defenders, Joseph Heck and Russell Benoy, did a phenomenal job today to defend and having the attacking mindset to attack on the outside flanks."
The Hodags had a couple of potential Nicholas St. Pierre goals disallowed, one for offsides and one for the ball being deemed to have gone out of bounds prior to the shot. Rhinelander outshot Medford 15-7 in the match, and had an 11-6 edge in shots on goal. Josh Randolph made five saves in the win for Rhinelander, despite tricky conditions with the win and Medford's artificial turf surface.
"The ball was just moving so fast and Medford's strategy was to keep sending the ball up front to their two best players," Kotula said. "Therefore, it was going to Josh a lot of the time. He had to come out of the goal multiple times and make saves that were a little unusual for him. He did a phenomenal job as well to deny those opportunities."
The Hodags end the season 7-5-3 overall and will now wait to learn the location and opponent for their WIAA tournament opener. The sectional seeding meeting takes place this weekend and the tournament will commence Thursday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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