June 6, 2022 at 8:59 a.m.
Norskies too much for Hodags
DeForest downs RHS 10-0 in regional finals
Norskies too much for Hodags
Amber Westra scored three times while Rylan Oberg and Maya Pickhardt each had a pair of goals as DeForest outclassed Rhinelander 10-0 in the WIAA Division 2 regional finals at DMB Community Bank Stadium.
Fresh off a 10-0 victory in the first round of the tournament, the Hodags experienced a role reversal Saturday as they struggled to slow down the Norski attack.
"They played an amazing team today. The girls gave everything they had and we were just outclassed," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "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."
Oberg, a sophomore, scored her 32nd and 33rd goals of the season to give DeForest a 2-0 lead. She got the Norskies on the board in the fourth minute as she won a ball at the top of the Hodag 18 and had a shot blocked by Rhinelander keeper Mya Krouze, but gathered her own rebound and tapped it into an open net.
Oberg then finished a 2-0 chance from Pickhardt in the 20th minute as both got behind the defense on a send from the defensive midfield by Sarah Dollack.
The Norskies routinely seemed a step ahead Rhinelander's defense in the match.
"My defense felt their girls were offsides, but DeForest does a very good job of doing a ghost run," Bates explained. "They're very, very talented at doing it. They have a girl offside purposely and then have another one running through after the fact and it makes my girls feel like they're offsides, but they're not. They're good at it, probably one of the best teams I've seen run that type of play. They have it down."
Westra scored her first on a drop from Pickhardt in the 32nd minute and the Norskies led 3-0 at halftime, the same score at 40 minutes as it was in the April 1 meeting between the sides.
DeForest poured it on in the second half though as Westra scored just 44 seconds into the stanza and again in the 46th minute to make it 5-0.
Goals by Grace Kuiper, Lilly Neuman and Payton Flowers made it 8-0 before Pickhardt scored back-to-back in the 71st and 73rd minutes to end the game via the 10-goal rule.
DeForest outshot Rhinelander 25-12 in the match, but 21 of the Norskies shots were on frame.
"The number of quality chances they had was unbelievable," Bates said.
Rhinelander did have a few looks in the match, and recorded the first shot of the game, a McKenna Brown shot from the top of the 18th that was denied by DeForest keeper Meta Fischer. Fischer stopped Brown again on a similar play in the 22nd minute and denied a hard shot from Ava Lamers in the 40th minute.
"We had some opportunities. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of quality ones this game and the end result is the end result," Bates said.
Krouse made seven saves before giving way to senior Maria Heck in the 49th minute. Heck made four saves the rest of the way.
Rhinelander finished the season 14-6-1 and fell one round shy of reaching sectionals for the second straight year. Overall, Bates said the Great Northern Conference runners-up had plenty to celebrate this season.
"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," he said. "I'm sad to see it end but, at the same time, I'm very proud of everything they've accomplished this year."
Rhinelander bid farewell to a senior class of seven players on Saturday - Kaylee Pontell, Eleanor Steffen, Megan Brown, McKenna Brown, Mabel Spencer, Heck and Audrey Schiek.
"All of our seniors meant a lot to this team and what they brought to the table wasn't just on the field either," Bates said. "They way they led their team and the way they treated their underclassmen was just outstanding. They ran their team and did a great job at it."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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