May 23, 2022 at 8:35 a.m.
Lakeland routs Hodags to take control of GNC girls' soccer race
Lakeland routs Hodags to take control of GNC girls' soccer race
Rhinelander was unable to slow down the Thunderbirds in the rematch. Sophia Myshchyshyn and Leah Wolfe each scored twice and Lakeland downed Rhinelander 6-1 in a showdown at IncredibleBank Field in Minocqua.
The regulation loss, coupled with Rhinelander needing a shootout to defeat Northland Pines last Tuesday, took the destiny of the GNC championship out of the Hodags' hands. Rhinelander now needs to defeat Mosinee in regulation tonight, and have Lakeland drop at least one point in one of its final two conference matches to earn at least a share of the conference title.
"My girls have had an absolutely amazing season. Myself and all the coaches are extremely proud of everything they've done this year," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "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 needed to at least take Lakeland to penalty kicks to maintain control of its conference fate, but Lakeland made sure that wouldn't happen.
Wolfe got the T-Birds on the board in the 24th minute as she spun and fired a high, hard shot from 25 yards through Rhinelander keeper Mya Krouze's hands. Myshchyshyn doubled the lead in the 32nd minute as she possessed the ball off a corner kick, created space for herself inside the 18 and fired a left-footed shot to the top right corner.
Wolfe and Myshchyshyn entered Thursday's play second and third in the GNC in scoring, being Rhinelander's Ava Lamers. They accounted for four goals and an assist in the contest.
"We made some critical errors by leaving Sophie open up in the middle," Bates said. "Our girls knew going into the game that if we left Sophie and Leah Wolfe open in the middle, we were going to be in trouble. It happened a couple of times and the end result is the end result, unfortunately."
Taylor Heleniak split Rhinelander defenders off a pass from Olivia Melka and scored on a breakaway chance in the 42nd minute. Wolfe then scored again from long range in the 53rd minute and Myshchyshyn fed Josie Wentland on a breakaway for a goal in the 64th minute as the rain began to fall.
"It just wasn't our day. At the end of the day, it just wasn't our day," Bates said. "It seemed like the wind got taken out of our sails after the third goal got put in. That's when I'd say my girls looked defeated. They just looked defeated."
Freshman Sophie Miljevich got Rhinelander on the board in the 73rd minute as she gathered a headed ball by McKenna Brown and fired a shot from just outside the 6-yard box past Lakeland's Naomi Hamerla. Myshchyshyn rounded out the scoring in the 77th minute, coming free off a throw in just outside the Rhinelander penalty box.
Lakeland outshot Rhinelander 21-8 in the match. Krouze made eight saves in defeat for the Hodags.
After the contest, the Hodag team alleged that a group of fans taunted a number of its players during the match, up to and including using a racial slur (see related story, Page 1). Lakeland Union administration stated Friday afternoon it will discipline the LUHS student it found to be responsible for using the slur.
The Hodags conclude the regular season tonight against Mosinee in a game that has been moved to a 7 p.m. start at the Marathon County Sports Complex in Rhinelander.
The WIAA playoffs begin Thursday, June 2 as the Hodags earned the No. 3 seed and open up at home against sixth-seeded Wausau East. Rhinelander defeated the Lumberjacks 5-1 at home April 19.
The winner of that game will likely face second-seeded DeForest in the regional finals. The Norskis, who defeated Rhinelander 8-1 in the second opener, got the No. 2 seed behind defending sectional champion Sauk Prairie.
"I went for the No. 2 seed, but I knew what the end result was going to be and I kind of anticipated we'd be the No. 3 seed," Bates said. "We get East at home first and we're going to prepare for the playoffs and see how big of a run we can make."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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