September 27, 2021 at 8:40 a.m.
Hodags' GNC soccer hopes take hit with loss to Medford
Hodags' GNC soccer hopes take hit with loss to Medford
The Hodags were pushed further back in the GNC race Thursday night. Zach Rudolph scored twice and Medford defeated Rhinelander 2-0 at Mike Webster Stadium.
The loss dropped Rhinelander to 3-3-0 in league play, three games back of undefeated Lakeland with four games remaining. Rhinelander also sits a game behind second-place Mosinee and is now tied for third with the Raiders in the league standings.
"We'll see what happens," Rhinelander coach Nathan Bates said. "We have a lot of season left here but it's going to put us in dire straits for the conference running. Now we're just working on placement for regionals."
The Hodags outshot the Raiders 25-10 in the match, but Medford was able to make more of its opportunities. Rhinelander put only seven shots on goal, and the Raiders made good twice when they were able to breach the Hodag defense.
Rudolph's first score came late in the 34th minute as he dispossessed defender Kyle Wiese about 25 yards from goal and converted the breakaway chance past keeper Gavin Ostermann. Video replay appeared to show Rudolph using slight body contact to take the lighter Wiese off the ball for the turnover. Bates said he saw it differently from the opposite end of the field.
"We had a defensive error down there and, in my opinion, it should have been a foul first off," he said. "Kyle was shoved off the ball for that first goal. It was clearly obvious."
Medford's Gage Neubauer got by the Rhinelander defense in a similar fashion in the 49th minute. Ostermann came out to make a diving stop at Neubauer's feet six yards from goal, but the rebound caromed back to Rudolph, who chipped it past a recovering Ostermann into an open net.
"Gavin had a beautiful save, but there was a rebound and they were there to finish it," Bates said.
Rhinelander had several chances to close the gap in the second half, but most came from long distance. Medford goalkeeper Quinton Tlusty denied Charlie Heck's shot from right of the 18-yard box in the 56th minute and the Hodags had three free kicks from inside of 40 yards that were tether saved or just missed wide of the mark in the final 24 minutes of the match. Rhinelander also misfired on its best close-range look of the night as Beau Howard kneed a ball high from close range off in the 61st minute off a cross to the back post by Matthew King.
"We definitely missed a lot off frame," Bates said. "We dominated possession in the second half in front of their net. We just couldn't get them to fall again. They put five back at defense and it was hard to get anything through that defense. We had some pressure. We had some opportunities. It just didn't fall."
The Hodags, who were without midfielder Tucker Frederickson for the match, once again struggled offensively. Rhinelander has been shutout in all three of its conference losses.
It was physical between Rhinelander and Medford, as it typically the case when the two sides meet. Medford was whistled for 14 fouls in the match to Rhinelander's 12.
Bates later added, "There should have been some calls, in my opinion. You can't blame it on the refs. The refs did a good job all and all. My boys started getting physical with (Medford) as well and we got some calls against us. I'm not disappointed. The boys played tough."
Rhinelander was originally schedule to play at Three Lakes tonight in a non-conference contest, but Bates said the team will instead send its JVs to play the Bluejays. The Hodags host Northland Pines in GNC play Thursday night at Mike Webster.
"We're just going to regroup and go back out there and hope we have a healthy team going into play Pines," he said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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