September 20, 2021 at 8:36 a.m.
RHS drops Antigo, gets back above .500 in GNC
RHS drops Antigo, gets back above .500 in GNC
Braden Mork and Andrew Henrichs each scored twice as the Hodags shut out Antigo 4-0 on a blustery day at Listle Field.
"The boys looked good today," coach Nathan Bates said. "They had their heads down a little bit from the other night but tonight they came back together as a team and put a win on the board."
Tucker Frederickson assisted on three of Rhinelander's four goals as Rhinelander dominated the match, outshooting Antigo 49-10 overall.
The Hodags got on the board in the 19th minute as Frederickson served a ball to Mork for a finish. Henrichs doubled the lead in the 28th minute to give Rhinelander a 2-0 lead at halftime.
Bates said the Hodags were able to find success despite Antigo's defensive-minded tactics.
"Antigo stacked their defensive line against us and we came out right away playing a really good possession game," he said. "We had quite a few shots, but they had 5-to-7 defenders back there pretty much the entire game."
Mork made it 3-0 for the Hodags in the 43rd minute and Henrichs finished off the scoring in the 66th minute off an assist by Kyle Wiese. Bates said both goals were the result of good ball movement.
"We had some really good ball movement today and some really good passes," he said. "There was a beautiful one down there. Tucker drove it down to the corner, dumped it back to the top and Braden put a beautiful finish on it. Kyle also did something very similar."
Gavin Ostermann made three saves to record his third shutout of the season. Rhinelander put 25 of its 49 shots on goal.
Midfielder Shane Petrick returned to the lineup for Rhinelander after missing three matches due to a hip injury.
"Shane still isn't 100% yet," Bates said. "He's back in there, but still not 100%. He's still kind of nursing his injury. We're trying to get him some playing time, get him back in there, but he's still really shy about his speed when he's trying to run full out, and he's still pretty shy about ripping shots."
The win moved Rhinelander back into a tie for second in the GNC, two games behind league-leading Lakeland which routed Mosinee 4-0 on Thursday. Bates said his team has a long road back if it wants to catch the T-Birds over the second half of the season and retain the conference crown. It began by not overlooking Antigo.
"I keep telling the boys don't underestimate any team that we play. We've got to go out there and play for the championship every game. They went out there tonight and did that," he said.
Rhinelander 2, Shawano 2
Rhinelander could not hold on to a two-goal lead and played Shawano to a 2-2 draw in a non-conference match Friday night at Shawano.
Beau Howard and Wiese scored in the first 16 minutes for Rhinelander, but the Hawks got one back before half time and then scored again late in the second to steal the draw.
"We had a good passing game, had a lot of offensive attacks against them," Bates said. "2-2, it's not the preferred outcome of the game, but it was still good competition and the kids played well."
Bates said defender Alexx Huff left the game following a collision midway through the first half, which seemed to open up some offensive opportunities for Shawano.
"After that, we kind of had a defensive issue back there for a little bit and they got one in on us," Bates said. "Then late in the second half we had another defensive error where three of our defenders were holding up high and one was dropped back a little bit. That kept the one guy onsides. It was a little miscommunication there and they got another one in on us and tied it up."
Rhinelander outshot Shawano 36-11 in the match. Ostermann recorded seven saves in the draw. Frederickson and Mork each recorded assists.
John Weigel directed the team in Shawano Friday as Bates was unable to attend the match due to a work conflict. Bates said he was able to watch the majority of the game via an Internet live stream and was in contact with Weigel in regard to tactics and strategy.
Up next
The Hodags venture outside the GNC tonight to take on D.C. Everest in the annual playing of the Hammer Game at Mike Webster Stadium and will host Medford on Thursday night to begin the second half of the conference slate. Rhinelander defeated the Raiders 1-0 in Medford Aug. 31.
Bates said, while the rivalry game with D.C. Everest is important, he's more concerned with the conference race as Rhinelander tries to track down Lakeland over the second half of the season.
"It's kind of hard to have a tough game like that before we go back into the second round of conference play. It's a fun game, but I'm also not going to take it 100%," he said. "I need my kids 100% healthy and rested before we start the second round of conference play."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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