March 15, 2021 at 8:13 a.m.
Hugh Wiese, Joseph Heck named boys' soccer MVPs
Hugh Wiese, Joseph Heck named boys' soccer MVPs
A pair of senior captains, Hugh Wiese and Joseph Heck, were honored by the team, voted as this year's offensive and defensive most valuable players. Sophomore Leo Losch took home the other varsity award voted on by the players, earning the team's most improved award.
The team opted not to hold a virtual banquet at the end of the fall season, waiting instead for the ability to meet in-person. The School District of Rhinelander lifted its moratorium on in-person banquets last month.
Wiese was the Hodags' top offensive threat during the 2020 season. The midfielder ended with 15 goals and five assists on the year and was voted the conference co-offensive player of the year.
"We're going to have to change a lot of the things that we do with our offense. We don't have Hugh in the middle anymore like we did," coach Nathan Bates said. "That created a lot of plays. He's going to be a big loss for the team."
On the back end, Joseph Heck was a second-team All-GNC selection on defense, and a key piece of a Hodag back four that allowed only eight goals in its first nine conference games. The Hodags did concede seven goals in a loss to Medford to end the regular season, but much of that game was played with the starters on the bench with the GNC championship already secured.
"It's going to be a big hit to the team losing Joseph at defense. He was the backbone of the defense this year," Bates said. "Joseph's been one of the captains on the team the last couple years. He's one of the seniors we're going to be losing this year and I'm going to miss him very, very much on the field as a player and as a person. He's a great guy all around."
Losch, in his first year on the team, was also part of the Hodags' stingy defensive unit. Bates said Losch's shining moment cam in a home game Oct. 1 against Lakeland as he neutralized the conference's leading scorer, Yaroslav Myshchyshyn, in a 3-1 victory for the Hodags.
"Leo Losch really stepped it up last year and I think will be a good fit back there for one of the defensive positions," Bates said. "I'm extremely impressed with the progression throughout the season that he had and I can't wait to see what next year brings for him.
"He is just relentless with his cardio and his stamina. I think a lot of it comes from his hockey play. He's just relentless, a smart player and I think he's going to turn into a great soccer player the next couple of years."
Wiese and Heck passed down their captain's armbands for next year during the banquet. Wiese gave his to senior-to-be goalkeeper Gavin Ostermann.
"Gavin this season, he started showing some initiative and starting acting captain-like, I guess you could say. He set up a bunch of practices and development things and taking control," Wiese said.
Heck gave his armband to his younger brother, and fellow defensive starter, Charlie.
"Charlie's a great leader on an off the field. He did a great job this year. Hopefully that will continue into next season," Joseph Heck said.
The team will have two additional captains for the 2021 season to be announced at a later date.
Cooper Radke and Andrew Henrichs were honored with the team's GPA awards and the team also presented its junior varsity awards. Will Quinn and Neil Wiegel were the JV side's offensive and defensive MVPs while Will Gretzinger won the JV most improved player award.
Following a 3-8-6 campaign in 2019, the Hodags had a rebound season in Bates' second year at the helm. The Hodags went 12-3-0 this season, winning the GNC title for the first time since 2017. Rhinelander also advanced to the sectional round of the WIAA tournament for the first time in three years before being ousted by eventual state qualifier Medford in the sectional semifinals.
"I would like to congratulate everyone here and such a great season. It was a crazy year that we had, but we had quite the successful year and was proud of everybody," Bates said. "The kids have been working really hard in the dome. I think we're going to change a couple team dynamics and we'll be just fine. We have of talent left on the team."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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