September 20, 2020 at 3:41 p.m.
Wiese's goal leads Hodag soccer past defending GNC-champ Medford
RHS also downs Three Lakes to start 3-0
Wiese's goal leads Hodag soccer past defending GNC-champ Medford
Thursday night, the Hodags were finally able to turn the tables and deliver an early statement in this year's Great Northern Conference race.
Hugh Wiese delivered the game's only goal, scoring in the 80th minute as the Hodags knocked off the Raiders 1-0 at Mike Webster Stadium.
The golden goal came with Medford down a man after Kale Klussendorf was red carded and sent off in the 75th minute following a hard hit to Hodag goalkeeper Gavin Ostermann, and Rhinelander won despite getting outshot by a 2 1/2-to-1 margin.
"Medford's a strong team. They've got a good coaching staff and a heck of a good group of players on the team," Rhinelander coach Nathan Bates said. "We anticipated this was probably going to be one of the hardest games of the season for us. We left it all on the field. The boys did a great job."
For the Hodags, the victory was especially sweet considering the way last year's series with Medford went, with a pair of late defeats.
"That was a hard game to get over," Wiese, a senior, said. "We played our hearts out that game. To come back and beat them was such a good feeling. I can't explain it."
Typically a central midfielder, the Hodags moved Wiese into the role of attacker at times Thursday night, and it paid off with the lone goal of the match.
Wiese collected a pass from Braden Mork roughly 20 yards from goal, split a pair of Medford defenders and then rocketed a shot from 15 yards that Medford keeper Brady Hupf deflected with his foot, but was not enough to steer the ball off line as it trundled into the back of an open net.
"That's why we put him up there," Bates said. "We were hoping for one ball. He's good in a scramble. He's good in the box. He can cut, turn and shoot. That's exactly what we (hoping for). Like I said, we were trying to get one in like that and it worked."
Medford did not go down without a fight as the Hodags had to dodge multiple bullets over the final 10 minutes to preserve the win. Rhinelander struggled to clear the ball out of its own penalty area following a free kick in the 81st minute, Medford deflected the ball toward goal in the ensuing scrum and, with Ostermann out of position, defender Alexx Huff cleared the ball away from the goal line in the nick of time.
Medford's Owen Wipf had a pair of looks late, sending a direct free kick high and wide right in the 82nd minute, followed by a low rocket from 15 yards in the 85th minute that Ostermann stopped with a diving save. Ostermann, who made eight saves in the shutout win, also stopped long range chances from Colton Gowey and Aaron Schield down the stretch.
"We did really good as a team, locked them down on defense and it was a team effort," Wiese said.
Medford outshot Rhinelander 22-9 overall in the match and 8-3 in shots on goal. Yet the Hodags improved to 2-0 in the GNC along with Mosinee while Medford fell to 0-1. The Hodags and Raiders are set to meet again Oct. 15 in Medford.
Rhinelander 3, Three Lakes 0
Rhinelander was in control from the opening whistle on Saturday as it concluded a 3-0 opening week with a 3-0 victory at Three Lakes in a non-conference matchup.
Wiese scored both of Rhinelander's goals in the first half and Joseph Heck added an insurance tally in the second.
"The defense cleaned up, the offense cleaned up and they continued to keep pushing forward," Bates said. "The kids still have some things we need to work on at practice, but today we also had some fun, moved some kids up top to get some play time up in the offense that normally don't. It was a fun day."
Wiese got things started off a through ball by Beau Howard in the seventh minute, taking a shot from the top of the 18 that beat Three Lakes keeper Hunter Meistad to the top left corner. Wiese added his second of the match, and fourth of the season in the 36th minute, seeing a Three Lakes clearance right back toward goal and in from roughly 45 yards out.
Joseph Heck, typically one of Rhinelander's starting defenders, was the benefactor of some of the Hodags' positional moves in the second half. Playing at forward, Heck was put on a run off a service by Braden Mork, made a move past a defender just inside the penalty area and finished to the lower left hand corner to snuff out any thoughts of a Three Lakes comeback.
The Hodags finished with a 41-10 edge in total shots and had 16 shots on goal. Ostermann stopped all four shots he faces as the Hodags turned in their third shutout in as many games to start the season.
The Hodags have a home-and-home series this week with Northland Pines. Pines, which split the GNC crown with Medford fell to 0-2-0 on the season with a 4-1 loss to Mosinee last Thursday.
Rhinelander hosts Pines tonight at Mike Webster Stadium and then travels to Eagle River on Thursday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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