September 3, 2021 at 12:35 p.m.
RHS soccer rallies past Pines 3-2
RHS soccer rallies past Pines 3-2
Goals by Shane Petrick and Mason Shinners early in the second half were enough as Rhinelander rallied from behind to defeat Northland Pines 3-2 in Eagle River.
Through two conference games, the Hodags have defeated the two teams - Medford being the other - that defeated Rhinelander in GNC play a season ago. With five of the conference's six teams believing they have what it takes to win the league crown this year, coach Nathan Bates said his team has to be ready for the opposition's best shot match in and match out.
"It could go any which way this season. Every team in here is a worthy contender for the conference championship," he said. "Thank God we came out on top tonight. The boys did a great job in the second half, pushed the intensity and we played as a team in the second half. That was the difference."
A pair of Gabe Hickson first-half goals put Rhinelander in a hole at halftime, but Pines' lead proved to be short-lived.
Petrick tied it in the 45th minute as he took one touch in the box off a service by Tucker Frederickson and then finished to the top right corner. Frederickson was also on the giving end of the game-winning cross in the 52nd minute, as he chipped one into the box for Shinners, who redirected the ball in mid-air and deflected it home.
"Mason was in the right spot at the right time. Tucker had a beautiful cross. Shane, same thing. It was a beautiful send to him and he had a beautiful shot," Bates said. "The second half, the boys came out with a lot of intensity and they played a great game in the second half."
The one-goal final margin belied the number of quality chances Rhinelander had throughout the match. The Hodags amassed 35 shots, 15 of which were on goal. Pines keeper Patrick Roth came up with three big saves over the final seven minutes as the Hodags tried to secure the clincher.
The Eagles, who rallied from down 3-1 late last Tuesday to stun Mosinee 4-3, had a couple of looks over the final 10 minutes to square the match. Ryan Muench tried to put Gabe Smith on a ball in the 72nd minute through the middle of the Rhinelander defense, but Hodag keeper Gavin Ostermann collected the ball in the box just before Smith could get his foot on hit. Owen Uebe rushed a shot from the left side of the 18-yard box in the 79th minute that sailed wide left.
It was another close finish for Rhinelander, which has seen its last four games decided by a goal or end in a draw.
"It seems to be a theme going on lately," Bates said. "Hopefully we can turn that around and change it so it's not continuing throughout the whole season."
The Hodags appeared to have the Eagles on their heels early, as Matthew King tallied the opener just 2 minutes, 35 seconds into the contest. Petrick put Beau Howard on a through ball in to the Pines box. Howard maneuvered around Roth and then centered the ball to King for a finish on an open net.
Pines answered quickly, however, as Hickson scored 36 seconds later to level to match and then scored again in the 35th minute to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.
"They caught us while we were sleeping, by far. They answered right back real quick," Bates said. "That was frustrating because it was exactly what they did the first time. Pines does it every year, they play down the sideline and they always bring it to the corner and then drop it off. My defense knew it going into the game and they still let it happen twice."
That lead to a pair of stern halftime speeches, first from Bates and then from junior captain Charlie Heck.
"Once in a while you've got to kick them in the butt a little bit and get them pumped up," Bates said. "The first half, we came out and had some good opportunities. We just didn't capitalize on them. But we were not playing to our full potential in the first half."
The Hodags outshot the Eagles 35-19 in the match. Ostermann made eight saves in the victory. Petrick, who has scored in each of the Hodags' last two matches, left Thursday's match in the 74th minute, favoring his right leg after taking a shot from roughly 30 yards. Bates said Petrick aggravated an injury first sustained in Tuesday's win at Medford.
After playing five games in eight days to start the season, the Hodags are off until this coming Thursday when they host fellow conference unbeaten Lakeland at Mike Webster Stadium.
"The kids are pretty banged up. We're going to take Friday off, give them a little bit of a break and get back going on Monday," Bates said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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