May 24, 2019 at 3:21 p.m.
Hodags close regular season with a 3-1 win over Pines
Hodags close regular season with a 3-1 win over Pines
Payton Van Zile and Emma Hjelle scored on shots outside the 18-yard box in the first half and the Hodags defeated the Eagles 3-1 to close the regular season in Eagle River. The win locked up sole possession of second place in the GNC for the Hodags.
"I think we wrapped it up pretty well," coach Richard Kotula said of closing the regular season with a 10-4-0 mark. "Playing against Pines, we knew it was going to be a tough battle. They were contending with us for second place (in the conference). They were a good team. They played with heart and they played much better than the beginning of the season when we played them first time."
Van Zile got things going with a shot from outside the box in the 22nd minute and Hjelle made it 2-0 in the 38th minute as she fired a shot on frame after Northland Pines attempted to clear a corner kick opportunity.
"Pines knew that we were coming at them with a lot of attacking strength and they did a real nice job defending in their box," Kotula said. "They created congestion in the penalty box, which was very difficult for our strikers or outside wings to create dangerous scoring opportunities. That resulted in some nice scoring possibilities for our midfielders."
Aside from where the shots were struck on the field, Kotula said the goals had another common thread - both Van Zile and Hjelle used their non-dominant foot to score the goals.
"I was very happy that they're starting to utilize both of their feet, their strength and improvement has been showing on the field," he said. "Those were difficult shots from the outside. They used their weak foot and scored on those opportunities."
Pines halved the lead less than a minute into the second half as Rowan Klaver sped around the Hodag defense on the flank and beat keeper Kahlie Arneson on a breakaway chance. Rhinelander clung to the one-goal lead much of the second half until Ella Schiek gave the Hodags some breathing room in the 87th minute off an assist from Jaden Olski.
"Jaden did a really nice crossing pass to Ella. Ella had a really tough angle on it and she placed the ball just right, behind the goalie," Kotula said.
Rhinelander outshot Northland Pines 16-7 overall in the match, and allowed only five shots on goal. Arneson made four saves in the win for Rhinelander. Kotula credited his defensive backfield with keeping the pressure off his keeper.
"Madi Losch had a really great game," he said. "She didn't have any points, but she was controlling well defensively and reading Pines' opportunities. She really stepped up, Payton as well. Payton played defensive mid and she was very active. Finally we're seeing Payton recovering from her injuries at the start of the season and making a difference. I was happy about that because in the playoffs, we will need all the strength we can get."
The Hodags will have some time to rest prior to the postseason, after earning the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in their eight-team half sectional. Rhinelander's first tournament game will be Saturday, June 1 at the RHS soccer fields against either Merrill or Hortonville. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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