June 10, 2021 at 8:08 a.m.
Hodags breeze past Baraboo 5-0 in playoff soccer opener
Hodags breeze past Baraboo 5-0 in playoff soccer opener
Ava Lamers scored twice, three other Hodags added goals and Rhinelander was never challenged as it cruised past Baraboo 5-0 in a Division 2 regional semifinal match in the Hodag Dome.
The third-seeded Hodags looked strong as they outshot the Thunderbirds 28-8, took the lead in the 11th minute and never looked back.
"The girls clicked very, very well today and we were able to put them away pretty easily," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said.
The Hodags used a combination of Lamers' leg and speedy forwards to break the Baraboo defense. Lamers got things going in the 11th minute as Ella Schiek chipped a ball to her for a one-touch shot from 20 yards that curled inside the right post.
Rhinelander made it 2-0 in the 26th minute as McKenna Brown dispossessed a Baraboo defender at the top of the 18, dribbled in and finished the breakaway.
The Hodags doubled the lead early in the second half. Gwyn Lowry put Ella Schiek on a through ball in the 49th minute and Schiek's shot from 20 yards just slipped over keeper Grace Schell's hands and underneath the crossbar. Lamers let loose again from long range in the 52nd minute, drilling a shot from 25 yards off a Morgan Van Zile assist.
Rhinelander rounded out the scoring in the 66th minute as Annalyse Schoppe got on the end of a Lamers pass and chipped the ball over Schell, who came out near the edge of the 18 to challenge the breakaway.
Rhinelander finished the match with 13 shots on goal.
"Ava put two in from outside the 18 today and McKenna's just aggressive up there up top," Bates said. "She was able to capitalize on some breakaway situations and beat the goalkeeper 1-v-1. Ella was another one today, she was able to capitalize on it and Annalyse Schoppe was also up there and able to outrun their defense and put one in as well.
"Our offense was pretty well able to handle their defense with our speed and our physical play ... We had a lot of great opportunities. The score could have easily been 15-0 by the end of the game."
Meanwhile, the Hodag defense kept freshman Caitlyn Frank, Baraboo's leading scorer, and the rest of the Thunderbird offense in check. Kahlie Arneson made three saves in 60 minutes before giving way to fellow senior Lily Berger with the result practically in hand. Berger needed to make only one save over the final half hour to preserve the shutout.
Bates credited his back line of Lowry, Audrey Schiek, Emma Chiamulera and Rachel Steffen for keeping the heat off of his goalkeepers.
"The girls played really high up on the defense and by they time they could get any momentum going, our defense was able to shut them down," he said.
Tuesday's game was played inside the Hodag Dome due to thunderstorms in the area. The indoor facility saved the teams from a late night due to weather delays or potentially having to return Wednesday to play the game.
"It's awesome to have this facility that we have and go at it in the dome and be able to continue to play and not worry about the weather," Bates said. "It's a huge asset to our whole community and all of our sports programs. I'm very thankful that we were able to have (the game) in there."
Rhinelander (6-6-1) was awaiting the winner of Wednesday evening's Marshfield-Portage/Poynette game, which concluded after deadline. Should second-seeded Marshfield hold serve, it would set up a rematch between the Hodags and Tigers Saturday in Marshfield in the regional finals.
The two teams played in the Hodag Dome May 24, with Marshfield earning a 2-1 win on a Courtney Meyer goal with 23 seconds remaining in regulation.
"If it is Marshfield, we're going to go out and play like we did against them the first time," Bates said. "We're just going to go out there and play like we always do and play a super tough game. We have a group of girls here that don't know the word quit and that goes a long ways. We've been playing pretty good ball the last few games and we'll try to continue the win streak and win regionals."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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