June 2, 2022 at 7:50 a.m.
Resounding opener
Miljevich scores five, Hodags rout Wausau East 10-0 to start playoffs
Resounding opener
Freshman Sophie Miljevich tallied a career-high five goals, Ava Lamers had two goals and four assists and the Hodags rolled Wausau East 10-0 to start the WIAA Division 2 playoffs at Mike Webster Stadium.
The Hodags (14-5-1) scored in bunches and finished off the Lumberjacks via the 10-goal rule in the 68th minute. It sets up a rematch at second-seeded DeForest tomorrow afternoon in the regional finals.
"The girls looked great, passing game, just finishing in general, defense, all around the girls had a heck of a game, just like last game against Mosinee," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "They came back out again today and they played their butts off. They were hungry and it showed on the scoreboard. They did a great job."
Miljevich moved from wing to striker on Tuesday as the Hodags gave senior McKenna Brown the night off after she tweaked her ankle in last Tuesday's regular season finale at Mosinee.
Miljevich made the most of the opportunity, scoring twice 80 seconds apart to give the Hodags a 2-0 lead in the seventh minute. She tacked on one more later in the first half and scored twice more during a 79-second span in the second half as the Hodags pulled away.
"She was on fire," Bates said. "We moved her in the middle tonight, obviously, to replace McKenna for the game. Sophie moved up in there and she did exactly what we anticipated. She did a great job. She was there, had a lot of shots. Ava fed her a lot of good balls."
Though McKenna Brown was scratched from the lineup, that might have gone unnoticed with a casual glance to the field. That's because McKenna's twin sister, Megan, made her debut following the conclusion of her track and field season. She even scored a goal for the Hodags, a shot that split defenders and found its way inside the left post to give Rhinelander a 5-0 lead in the 37th minute.
"Megan played well tonight for her first game in," Bates said. "She was able to put one in the back of the net tonight and had herself a couple of more opportunities. It's fun to have her out there. It's great for her to finish the season with us since track and stuff interfered and she wanted to do both. It was cool to see her out there."
Audrey Schiek scored off a Miljevich corner kick in the 16th minute and Miljevich completed her hat trick in the 18th minute as the Hodags took a 5-0 lead to halftime.
Lamers assisted on four of the five first-half goals before scoring herself in the 47th minute. Leah Jamison added goal No. 7 just over a minute later. Lamers closed out the night with goal No. 10 at the 67:55 mark.
"Ava buried a couple from outside that 18 that were beautiful shots. Sophie had a couple of through ball breakaways for some finishes," Bates said. "Leah Jamison was on the end of a drop ball to her on the outside for a finish. There were a lot of goals tonight. The girls moved the ball well. They communicated very well. The passing game tonight was on point for sure. The end result is what it is because of how well they played tonight."
Rhinelander outshot Wausau East 42-0 in the match. Mya Krouze started in goal but gave way to Maria Heck late in the first half. Neither Hodag keeper faced a shot on goal.
The Hodags are now preparing for their second meeting of the season with DeForest, which beat Rhinelander 8-1 in the season opener back on April 1 in the Hodag Dome.
The Norskies are 15-3-1 following a 10-0 win over Portage/Poynette on Tuesday to begin the tournament. Season statistics for DeForest were not available, but the Norskies' attack centered around three players in the season opener against the Hodags. Rylan Oberg had three goals and a pair of assists in that game while Maya Pickhardt and Payton Flowers each scored twice.
DeForest led 3-0 at halftime in the first meeting against Rhinelander before McKenna Brown scored in the 42nd minute. However the Norskies tallied five unanswered goals after that.
"They're a great team. They're a good passing them. Their whole team plays club ball together all year long. They know each other very well. But our girls have come along way from then until now," Bates said. "I think it's going to be a different game this time. We got them the first game of the season and, up until halftime, the girls were doing a great job with them. The second half we had some defensive stuff. But, since then, our defense had got its act together very, very well. I think we can go out there and shock DeForest."
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday in DeForest.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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