June 7, 2021 at 8:30 a.m.
Hodag soccer ends regular season with a win
Hodag soccer ends regular season with a win
McKenna Brown scored twice and Ella Schiek added a goal as the Hodags defeated Northland Pines 3-1 in the regular season finale at Mike Webster Stadium.
For the Hodags, it was only their second win in their last seven contests - which included two games each against Great Northern Conference front-runners Ashland and Lakeland.
"It was good for the girls all together," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "Our last couple of games have been against the two toughest teams in the conference. We've had some tough games toward the end here. We had Marshfield, Lakeland, Ashland. It was great to have the girls come out tonight, have some fun and put away another win going into playoffs."
The Hodags were able to catch the Northland Pines' defense flat-footed on a number of occasions as they led most of the way on Thursday.
Brown, a junior, got the scoring started in the 18th minute, finishing a cross into the box by Schiek. That was the lone tally as the Hodags took a 1-0 lead to halftime. Schiek then got loose on a breakaway in the 50th minute, racing past the Pines' defense and scoring on a 1-on-0 chance.
After Northland Pines' Allie Kieffer converted a penalty kick in the 63rd minute, Brown restored the two-goal margin by dribbling past the Pines defense and finishing a breakaway chance in the 67th minute.
"A lot of teams have a hard time containing Ella and McKenna when we start getting some offensive attacks going," Bates said.
The final score belied the one-sided nature of the contest. The Hodags held a 31-5 edge in total shots. Kahlie Arneson recorded two saves in 78 minutes and, aside from Kieffer's penalty kick, was never really tested. Lily Berger played the final 12 minutes in the Hodag goal and did not face a shot.
Pines' lone score was the result of a bit of misfortune for Rhinelander as a bounding ball inside the Hodag penalty area bounced and grazed Ava Lamers' hand, resulting in a penalty kick. Kieffer tucked the penalty past Arneson inside the right post.
The Hodags also had a number of quality looks that didn't find their way home. Brown was denied on a point-blank save by Emily Rottier-Douangmala in the 54th minute off a well-placed cross into the box by Morgan Van Zile. Rottier-Douangmala got just enough of a Schiek breakaway chance in the 58th minute to steer it wide and Schiek put a left-footed shot off the crossbar in the 78th minute.
"We had a couple ring off the (post) there," Bates said. "We had a lot of opportunities. Pines was stacking the defense back here when we were getting in on attacks. The score's 3-1 but we had a lot of good attacks on them, some good crosses, some good stuff going on corner kicks. The girls played a good game. It definitely could have been a lot (more) than 3-1 but it's OK, I'll take it."
Rhinelander concluded the regular season with a record of 5-6-1 and finished third alone in the GNC with a 4-4-1-0 league mark.
Last Wednesday, the Hodags received the No. 3 seed for their WIAA regional and will host sixth-seeded Baraboo tonight at Mike Webster Stadium to begin postseason play. Sauk Prairie is the top team in the eight-team, Division 2 draw. Marshfield, which edged Rhinelander 2-1 on a 90th minute goal last month, got the second seed, and would be the Hodags' regional final opponent on Saturday, should both teams advance out of the first round.
As for the Baraboo Thunderbirds, they come in with a 2-7-1 record and finished seventh in the eight-team Badger North Conference. Freshman Caitlyn Frank is their leading scorer.
"We're going to watch some game footage and see what's going on there," Bates said. "Their record doesn't look great, but they're also in a difference conference than we're in, so you can't underestimate them at all. It appears they have one key player on the team that's scored 9 of their 11 goals for the season, and she's a freshman."
Kickoff for today's playoff game is set for 7 p.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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