July 5, 2022 at 7:27 a.m.
Team review: RHS girls' soccer
Improved squad nearly wins GNC title
Team review: RHS girls' soccer
Though the Hodags were eliminated one round earlier in the WIAA state tournament this year, running into a buzzsaw in the regional finals at DeForest, the team won 14 games this spring. That's up from only six a season ago, and saw a notable uptick in coach Nathan Bates' second year as head coach.
"I'm super proud of the season that we had. My defense, all year long, was rock solid. I've got nothing bad to say about the year," Bates said following a season-ending loss to the Norskies. "I'm sad to see it end but, at the same time, I'm very proud of everything they've accomplished this year."
Rhinelander finished 14-6-1 on the season to take second in the GNC behind Lakeland, which qualified for the WIAA Division 3 state tournament.
Here are five things to know about the recently completed season.
GNC race
For a while, the Hodags actually had control of their own GNC title destiny. That came after arguably the game of the year for Rhinelander, a 1-0 shutout victory over Lakeland in late April at Mike Webster Stadium.
Despite being outshot 23-9 in that match, junior Ava Lamers converted a 67th-minute penalty kick and the Hodags kept the high-flying Lakeland offense at bay for a crucial conference win.
That made the math simple for Rhinelander - as long as it won the rest of its conference games in regulation, the worst it could do is share the GNC with Lakeland.
That was all going to plan until May 17 at Northland Pines. The Eagles benefitted from an own goal in the first half and the Hodags, despite outshooting Northland Pines 37-5, could only muster a McKenna Brown answer in the 51st minute as the sides played to a 1-1 draw in regulation.
Rhinelander won the ensuing penalty kick shootout, 3-1, but got only two points for the shootout win, instead of the maximum three for a regulation victory. The lost conference point to the Eagles meant the Hodags needed to take the May 19 rematch against Lakeland to penalties in order to clinch a share of the conference title.
Things didn't go to plan on a rainy evening in Minocqua as the T-Birds jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead and pulled away for a 6-0 win, which allowed Lakeland to take the conference title by a point over the Hodags.
"My girls have had an absolutely amazing season. Myself and all the coaches are extremely proud of everything they've done this year," Bates said after that game. "We had a lot of naysayers, didn't think my girls would have a great season this year and they did. I'm not disappointed. Yeah, it's upsetting what happened this week cost us, possibly, the conference. But, at the end of the day, we're going go beat Mosinee. When that happens, to end the season with an 8-1-1 record in conference is pretty damn respectable."
Rhinelander followed with a 6-0 victory over Mosinee the following Tuesday to complete the regular season with a 13-5-1 mark.
Done in by DeForest
The Hodags had the misfortune of a tough tournament draw as one of the smallest schools in Division 2. Rhinelander was forced into an oddly-spaced regional that stretched as far south as the north Madison suburb of DeForest and also included 2021 state qualifier Sauk Prairie, who would go on to win the sectional title again this season.
Right off the bat, the Hodags realized how stacked the top of the bracket was, falling to DeForest 8-1 in the season-opener at the Hodag Dome. The teams met again almost exactly two months later with a nearly identical result.
The Norskies sprinted out to a 3-0 first-half lead, just like they did in the first meeting, and this time finished off Rhinelander in 73rd minutes via the 10-goal rule.
Four of Rhinelander's six losses on the season came to teams near large population centers in the southern half of the state, including two to DeForest.
"They played an amazing team today. The girls gave everything they had and we were just outclassed," Bates said following the playoff loss. "They've got a great school, a great facility, a great team. All around, they're probably the best passing team I've seen all season. They're unbelievable."
Krouze comes along
Entering the season, one of the biggest question marks for the Hodags was the goalkeeper position, following the graduation of first-team All-GNC keeper Kahlie Arneson.
Sophomore Mya Krouze won the battle for the spot in the preseason and played virtually the whole season in goal. She finished the season 13-6-1 with a 1.51 goals against average and a .760 save percentage.
"I can't believe how she stepped up this year the way that she did," Bates said after Krouze received second-team honors in the GNC. "She had her work cut out for her, but you know what, she overcame everything she thought she couldn't and she kicked butt. She had some big games that saved our butts and I'm super proud of everything she's done."
Krouze's best game was the April 28 win over Lakeland, recording 15 saves in one of the eight shutouts she recorded this season.
Statbook
In addition to Krouze's play, a much-improved Hodag offense helped lead Rhinelander to more success this season. Rhinelander scored 5.1 goals per game in the GNC and 4.5 goal per game in all competitions this spring, up from splits of 2.9 and 2.1 goals per game last spring.
Much of that success could be attributed to the production of what proved to be Rhinelander's big three scorers - Lamers, Brown and freshman Sophie Miljevich. The three combined to score 74 of Rhinelander's 95 goals this spring.
Lamers led the way with 30 goals and 81 points overall. She led the GNC in goals (20), assists (14) and total points (54) as she earned unanimous first-team honors
"In my opinion, in the conference, when it comes to comparing apples to apples to other teams, Ava I'd put he up against any of those girls any day when it comes to work ethic and just being amazing at soccer," Bates said.
Bouncing back from an injury-plagued 2021, Brown had 24 goals and nine assists on the year while Miljevich burst onto the scene with 45 points (20 goals, 5 assists) as a freshman. Sophomore Morgan Van Zile was the only other player on the team who finished in double digits in scoring. She had 10 points on six goals and eight assists.
Rhinelander also picked things up defensively this spring. The team allowed 2.7 goals in conference and 2.2 goals in all competitions in 2021. Those numbers improved to 0.9 and 1.7 goals per game this year. The Hodag defense, led by GNC defensive player of the year Audrey Schiek and fellow all-conference recipients Emma Chiamulera, Eleanor Steffen, Mable Spencer and Krouze, recorded 10 shutouts overall on the season.
What's next
Rhinelander's biggest holes to fill next year will be in the back line, where they lose Schiek, Spencer and Steffen.
Rhinelander will have plenty of offensive firepower. While McKenna Brown has graduated, the team will bring back five of its top six scorers from this season in Lamers, Miljevich, Van Zile, sophomore-to-be Leah Weigel (nine points) and junior-to-be Leah Jamison (eight points).
Additionally, Krouze will be back in goal following a solid sophomore campaign.
Rhinelander may be in position to close the gap on Lakeland as the Hodags seeks their first conference title since 2017. The T-Birds graduate five seniors who received all-conference recognition, including three unanimous first-teamer.
"I think next year we can go out and take conference. We were damn close this year," Bates said during the team's banquet. "We had one hiccup in conference play this year, but you exceeded every one of the coaches' expectations and you did a great job the entire season. I could not be more proud with how you handled yourself on the field, off the field."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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