April 26, 2019 at 3:05 p.m.
Two goals off corner kicks help propel RHS to 4-0 win at Medford
Two goals off corner kicks help propel RHS to 4-0 win at Medford
After scoring a goal off of a corner kick to cap off a win over Northland Pines Tuesday night, the Hodags had success from the corners again Thursday, twice converting on corner kick chances in a 4-0 victory over Medford at Raider Field.
Jaden Olski was a part of both tallies, setting up Brooke Mork's score in the eighth minute to give the Hodags the lead. She was on the receiving end of a Emma Hjelle corner in the 48th minute to give Rhinelander full control of the match.
"It was nice to see because we've been practicing some corner kicks - not a lot of them - but we practiced some of those and we utilized what we have been practicing for," RHS girls' soccer coach Richard Kotula said. "We kind of continued the strategy we had with Northland Pines on Tuesday. We brought in the same tactics against Medford today. We wanted to start fast and defensively strong against a team that has a home advantage here on a fast turf."
The corner kick goals were scored in different ways. Mork mixed it up inside the Medford six-yard box, and won a scramble for the ball off Olski's service in the eighth minute.
"She's usually creating a havoc in front of the goalie and she utilized that to her advantage, took the ball from Jaden and scored," Kotula said.
Olski's goal early in the second half came with her stationed on the back side of the play as Hjelle lifted the ball over the traffic in the middle of the field.
"Jaden just perfectly waited for the ball on the left side of the post and finished with her left foot yet again, finding a small space between the goalie's glove and the left post and it went in," Kotula said. "It was a really well-placed goal again."
That was more than enough cushion for an RHS defense that continues to be ultra-stingy in the Great Northern Conference. Dating back to the middle of the 2017 season, the Hodags have conceded only two goals in their last 16 GNC contests - both to Ashland. That trend continued Thursday as the Hodags held the Raiders to four total shots and only two shots on goal. Sophomore keeper Kahlie Arneson easily turned aside both shots.
"We controlled the tempo of the game almost the whole time," Kotula said. "Not a lot of shots on us due to our strong defense. Only four shots, two on goal. Our back side defense and defensive mids are doing a great job shutting them down.
"That was a credit to our defense, girls like Emma Hjelle and Brooke Mork. Their leadership, verbally, really helped shore up our defense and our defensive mids to shut down any opportunities Medford created."
The Hodags scored twice more later in the second half. Izzy Haverkampf scored off a Madi Losch assist in the 53rd minute and freshman McKenna Brown recorded her first varsity goal, scoring on a rebound in the 77th minute.
"It was exciting for her, first varsity goal," Kotula said. "She didn't give up on it. The goalie made a mistake, dropped the ball and she ran through and scored, almost on a empty net, but she made the right decision to go for it and score."
Rhinelander recorded 25 shots in the match, 14 of which were on goal.
"We could have scored more goals than four," Kotula said. "The girls were actually a little disappointed that we didn't. Just a little bit of rushing through the motion trying to finish. There were some that should have gone in, but the ones that did go in were actually really nice goals."
In a schedule change, the Hodags will travel to Lakeland Monday night to make up a game scheduled against the T-Birds back on April 18. The Hodags were originally scheduled to take on Wausau Newman Monday, but Newman would have not had enough players due to another extra-curricular activity, according to RHSâactivities director Brian Paulson. Rhinelander will now host Newman May 9.
The Hodags travel to Antigo on Tuesday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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