April 28, 2022 at 12:28 p.m.
RHS soccer runs win streak to 8
Hodags blank Northland Pines 4-0 in dome
RHS soccer runs win streak to 8
Ava Lamers had a goal and assisted on the other three as the Hodags defeated Northland Pines 4-0 in the Hodag Dome.
The Eagles (0-3-0, 0-2-0 Great Northern) limited Rhinelander to 23 shots - the Hodags' lowest output during their eight-game winning streak - but Rhinelander (8-2-0, 3-0-0 Great Northern) cashed in on some close-range chances in the first half and shut down the Eagles' advances, especially in the second half.
"We didn't have our most technical game, by no means," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "We were kind of messing with the ball a lot more than shooting, which is kind of been unusual for us. We've been putting up a lot of shots lately. Tonight, for whatever reason, we took some quality shots, but we didn't take the number of shot we had the opportunities to do."
The game was a defensive stalemate early in the first half. The Hodags finally cashed in midway through the half on the first two quality scoring chances for either side.
Lamers put McKenna Brown on a breakaway in the 19th minute and Brown dribbled deep into the box before tapping one past Pines keeper Emily Rottier-Douangmala. Freshman Sophie Miljevich got on the end of a Lamers service in the 23rd minute, and skipped one in with the left foot to make it 2-0.
"Ava's amazing in the middle," Bates said. "Our top line in very deadly. We have a lot of speed up there and we have a lot of aggression out of our girls. They want the ball and they're hungry for it. Any time we get a ball through there and it's a 50/50 ball, our girls are usually coming up with it. It's awesome to see."
Rhinelander tacked on one more before halftime as Lamers sent a late cross in front of the net to junior Nevaeh Rappley who redirected it in from the top of the 6-yard-box to make it 3-0 in the 36th minute.
After facilitating the Hodags' first three goals, Lamers got one of her own late in the match, scoring in the 73rd minute as she created space for herself just outside the 18 and tucked a shot inside the right post.
The offensive support was plenty for a Rhinelander defense and sophomore goalkeeper Mya Krouze, who turned in their fourth straight clean sheet.
Pines had a few looks early in the match and their best chance came in the 37th minute as Krouze had to snag a Samantha Haiduk shot seeing the top right corner from 25 yards away. The Eagles mustered only one shot attempt in the second half and had five shots overall in the match. Krouze made four saves in the win.
"Our defense is amazing, Audrey (Schiek), Emma (Chiamulera), Eleanor (Steffen), Mabel (Spencer), Maria (Heck), everybody we put back there, they all did their job their job well," Bates said. "They're shifting together and pushing up well. They shut every chance down and kept the ball down here."
Tuesday's game was originally scheduled to be held at Northland Pines, but the Eagles' field was not ready for play, so the teams swapped home dates. Rhinelander will now travel to Eagle River for the rematch Tuesday, May 17.
Due to cold temperatures, the game was moved indoors to the Hodag Dome, with kickoff taking place shortly after 8:10 p.m. following a softball doubleheader between Rhinelander and Tomahawk in the dome.
Rhinelander was set to face Lakeland in a big GNC showdown Thursday night at Mike Webster Stadium in a game that concluded after deadline for today's edition. The Hodags are home again Tuesday to face Mosinee in GNC play.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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