April 24, 2019 at 2:03 p.m.
Home sweet home
Hodags soar past Eagles 3-0 in home, GNC opener
Home sweet home
Jaden Olski and Kenedy Van Zile both scored and the Hodags put the clamps on Northland Pines Tuesday night in a 3-0 victory over the Eagles in the GNC and home opener at Mike Webster Stadium.
A Hodag offense that was blanked in road contests at Hartford and Pewaukee earlier this month began to find its stride against the Eagles, and found a little good fortune in the second half with an own goal that provided a little extra breathing room.
"The girls played well," RHS girls' soccer coach Richard Kotula said. "They quickly adjusted to the formation that we have been practicing and being away from the gym, finally on a big field."
Rhinelander controlled the play, outshooting the Eagles 22-3 in the match, but did not have much offense to speak of until the 42nd minute when Olski struck from 35 yards off a well-timed drop pass from Izzy Haverkampf. The goal gave the Hodags a 1-0 lead and a needed shot of momentum heading into halftime.
"Great shot," Kotula said. "She has a killer left foot and that was a great set up from Izzy. Izzy actually did a wonderful job setting up that goal. She fought through the defenders. She kept the possession of the ball, which was important, passed it to Jaden and she was able to score off the right post. Great goal as a result of our continuous pressure in the first half. We needed it. We needed to show the girls we can score and not only can we be good defensively, but start creating offensive opportunities."
Olski had a chance to add to the lead moments into the second half, but had a shot blocked by an Eagles' defender. Rhinelander then caught a break in the 52nd minute, when Northland Pines keeper McKenzie Mayo misplayed a pass back to her by a teammate and the ball trundled across the goal line before Mayo could clear it.
It was not how the Hodags drew it up, but Kotula credited his team's constant offensive pressure for forcing the Eagles into a mistake.
"It's definitely not something I'm proud of, scoring like this, but like I told the girls we created the pressure that made them pass the ball backwards," he said. "They made a mistake and it went in. We didn't score the goal, but the creation of that pressure resulted in a goal for us."
Pines' best chance to score came in the 60th minute when Samantha Haiduk got free behind the Hodag defense, but Rhinelander keeper Kahlie Arneson calmly swatted away Haiduk's attempt from 12 yards.
Rhinelander added the clincher in the 78th minute when Kenedy Van Zile got to a Brooke Mork corner kick and fired home a shot from 15 yards.
"Kenedy was smart about that goal," Kotula said. "She waited. She didn't overcommit. She waited for that ball to come perfectly on her foot and she placed it. That's what we need. We need the placement. Sometimes we don't need the power. She placed it away from the goalie and that's exactly what we needed."
The Hodags kept a Northland Pines team that averaged four goals per game last year in GNC play at bay and, notably, neutralized Lauren Groskopf - the GNC's second-leading scorer from a year ago.
"Our defense did an amazing job today," Kotula said. "They stayed focused and they made sure there was a constant pressure so that the offensive opportunities are not being created. Our defense kept them at bay from scoring opportunities, which was good to see."
Rhinelander put 15 shots on goal during the match. Arneson recorded three saves in her first shutout of the season.
The Hodags played well defensively despite not having starter Madi Losch for the match and losing another starter, Payton Van Zile, in the first half due to injury.
"Some of our bench players stepped up drastically," Kotula said. "I'm very happy with Houston (Mathwig), how she played. I'm also very happy with Abbey (Henrichs), how she took on No. 20 (Emma Sima) on the right side defensively. It's nice to see those players step up in an important game like today and make some good plays."
The Hodags are back in action against Medford this evening. The Raiders are coming off a 1-1 draw at Lakeland Tuesday night.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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