May 6, 2021 at 8:41 a.m.
Dramatic debut
Rhinelander draws with Mosinee, wins penalty kick shootout
Dramatic debut
Kahlie Arneson made a diving save on a Riley Sondelski shot in the final round and Ava Lamers tucked home a penalty kick as Rhinelander defeated Mosinee on penalty kicks, 3-2, Tuesday night at Mike Webster Stadium in the first shootout in Great Northern Conference history.
The game will officially count as a 2-2 draw in both teams' overall records. Ella Schiek's two first-half goals for Rhinelander were canceled out by a couple of second-half tallies by Mosinee's Julia Pecha.
The GNC instituted a rule prior to the 2020-21 school year calling for a five-player shootout if conference games are tied after regulation for an additional point in the conference standings. Teams are awarded three points for a regulation win, two points for a shootout win and one point for a shootout loss. After the system went untested last fall during the boys' soccer campaign, it came into play in the very first game of the girls' season.
"I'm glad I ended up on the winning side," said Arneson, who stopped three of Mosinee's five chances in the shootout.
The win was the first on the sidelines for interim coach Nathan Bates, who took over last Friday after Richard Kotula resigned suddenly, citing health concerns.
"This year's been a crazy one for everybody, but our team's found a way to push through it and we came through in the end," said Lamers, who struck the decisive shot.
Rhinelander had control of the match early, and looked to go up 3-0 in the 48th minute after Ella Schiek appeared to outbattle Jessica Brown for a loose ball at the top of the 6-yard box. Schiek tapped the ball into the back of the net but, following discussion, the officials determined Brown was in possession of the ball first. Schiek was called for a foul and the goal was disallowed.
"It seemed like the momentum dropped after that," Bates said. "The girls came out with so much excitement in the first half, I think they exerted their energy pretty quickly in the first 45 minutes of the game too. I think the tempo of the game slightly changed where the girls just got real tired. They worked hard and they got tired."
Pecha trimmed the lead to one in the 54th minute off a cross into the box by Bailey Sondelski. Arneson stopped an initial shot by Kaitlyn Selle, but the rebound came to Pecha unmarked on the back post.
Mosinee's second goal was almost a carbon copy of the first. Gabriella Munoz sent a free kick into the box for Selle, who was stopped by Arneson, but the rebound again came to Pecha who was able to get one past a scrambling Rhinelander defense.
Mosinee nearly scored a third goal in a similar fashion in the 75th minute, but senior defender Rachel Steffen was able to clear the ball away off the line at the last moment.
"We definitely had a little communication breakdown here and there," Bates said. "The girls, when we were talking after the game, they said the same thing. Our communication started falling apart. They knew what they did. It's OK, it's all things, the first game back, we're going to continue to work on and improve throughout the season."
Rhinelander immediately jumped into a counterattack after Mosinee's missed chance. Lamers had a 2-on-1 opportunity the other way, but pulled a shot wide. McKenna Brown misfired high wide right on a chance from the right side of the box in the 85th minute and Jessica Brown stopped an Ella Schiek chance in the 89th minute that helped send the game to PKs.
Rhinelander never trailed in the shootout as Arneson stopped Selle in the first of the five rounds before Ella Schiek finished inside the left post. Munoz went left post for Mosinee in Round 2 to tie it. After both keepers made saves, Gwyn Lowry went right post for Rhinelander to put the Hodags up 2-1 through three rounds. Maddie Samz answered for Mosinee in Round 4 and McKenna Brown sent her chance high for Rhinelander to tie it at 2-2 heading to the final round.
Sondelski tried to go right post against Arneson in the final round. The Hodags' returning first-team all-GNC keeper from two years ago was ready.
"The only thing you can do is just choose a side," Arneson said. "The kicks before had mainly been to (my) right with I think one to the left. I knew this girl was going to try to pull something tricky on me. All I did was choose a side. I felt the pain in my elbow from it hitting my hand. I didn't even realize what happened and all of the sudden the ball was outside the net and everyone was screaming. I guess I did something right."
Lamers then stepped up and drilled a shot inside the right post past Jessica Brown.
"I just knew I had to do it for my team," she said. "They were all counting on me. I was the last one. With our seniors, it's their last first game, so I wanted to go out with a bang."
Ironically, penalty kicks played a major role in the contest well before the game's final act. Schiek scored from the penalty spot in the fifth minute after Mosinee was called for a handball inside its own penalty area off a cross by McKenna Brown.
McKenna Brown drew another PK in the 18th minute on a similar play from the left flank, but this time Jessica Brown was able to deflect Lowry's chance into the crossbar and deny the Hodags a goal. Rhinelander also misfired on the 26th minute when Lamers but a shot off a breakaway chance directly into the torso of Jessica Brown.
"The first half we came out on fire," Bates said. "We put a lot of pressure on them, got a couple of goals in. Unfortunately, we got one taken away and we also missed on some opportunities. The score should have been 5-0 at the end of the first half, but it didn't end up that way."
Schiek made it 2-0 for the Hodags in the 35th minute on a breakaway off an assist from McKenna Brown.
Stats were almost identical in the game, with Rhinelander have 16 shots, eight on goal, to Mosinee's 15 shots, seven on goal.
Though Bates was on Rhinelander's coaching staff before Kotula stepped down last week, he used Tuesday's game as an opportunity to play a number of players to get a feel as to which players will eventually fit where in the formation.
"We were moving some people around tonight trying to figure some things out," he said. "We kind of know who we have for our attacking offensive positions. We're still working on some things back on the defense and the defensive mid. We'll get 'er figured out here real quick."
The Hodags were back in action Thursday afternoon at Northland Pines in a game that concluded after deadline. Rhinelander travels to Merrill tomorrow for a non-conference matchup before coming home Tuesday to face Kingsford, Mich.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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