October 3, 2022 at 7:27 a.m.
Hodag soccer beats Pines, ties Shawano
Hodag soccer beats Pines, ties Shawano
Rhinelander had the better end of both matches, outshooting both opponents by a 3-to-1 margin, but found difficulty converting those chances into goals, which led to a pair of tight games.
"The boys played a great game. The stat sheet shows what the game was," Hodag head coach Nathan Bates said following Friday's game. "It just didn't end up that way on the scoreboard."
Rhinelander 3, Northland Pines 1
The Hodags fended off a pesky Northland Pines side on the road Thursday, defeating the Eagles 3-1.
Shane Petrick assisted on the first goal and scored the second, which ultimately proved to be the game winner as the Hodags took a 2-1 lead to halftime. Mason Shinners added an insurance goal in the second half.
"The kids played a great game. They passed the ball well tonight," Bates said. "They had moments where they had hiccups and things like that, but all and all, it was a pretty one-sided game the rest of the game. They played a good game tonight, I'm proud of them."
Rhinelander struck early in the match as Petrick found Braden Mork on a cross for a finish and that led stood until the Eagles converted a penalty kick later in the first half.
The kick was a result of contact inside the penalty area in which a Pines attacker hit the turf. Though the end result was another opposing goal that came directly or indirectly off a Rhinelander foul, Bates said his team was improved in that regard. Rhinelander was whistled for eight infractions in the day.
Rhinelander answered Pines' tally as Andrew Henrichs found Petrick to make it 2-1. Shinners added to the tally for Rhinelander in the 56th minute off an assist by Will Gretzinger.
Rhinelander outshot Pines 27-9 in the match and had a 16-4 edge in shots on goal.
"We had a lot of missed opportunities today, right at the goalkeeper," Bates said. "Mason Shinners had some good breakaways that he just didn't capitalize on and then we put the nail in the coffin with the third goal that went in there."
Rhinelander 1, Shawano 1
Mork scored the equalizing goal for the Hodags in the 63rd minute Friday night as they rallied from behind to earn a draw against the Hawks.
"A draw is a draw, but it just kind of stinks when the boys play the way they did this evening," Bates said. "We had a lot of opportunities and their goalie had a good game. Shawano's a good team. They were a little better than I anticipated. They're a fast team. They moved the ball well. They're an aggressive team but, at the end of the day, I can't complain. The boys played great tonight."
Shawano took the lead in the 31st minute as Anderson Schmidt split the Hodag defense and converted a breakaway chance. The Hodag defense appeared to hesitate for a split second, believing Schmidt was offside. Video replay confirmed that Schmidt was in a legal position when a through ball came in from the right flank by Julian Perez.
"They threw their arms up (asking for the call) and didn't go for it really," Bates said. "They allowed the kid to get in there is, basically, what kind of when down and it just wasn't called. By the time they started going for it, it was too late."
Mork tied the game from Rhinelander with a shot from roughly 22 yards in the 63rd minute. Gretzinger crossed the ball to Mork from the left wing and Mork skipped the shot inside the right post.
Rhinelander outshot Shawano 25-8 in the match and had a 12-5 edge in shots on goal.
Lakeland ahead
Though Rhinelander is six points behind Medford with three games remaining in conference play the team still has a chance to move into second in the GNC tonight a home against Lakeland, in what could be a crucial game for playoff seeding later this month.
Lakeland defeated Rhinelander 2-0 when the teams meet in Minocqua last month.
"We're very, very eager. The first round we had with them, the boys did not play up to their caliber and I'm really eager to see how it turns out," Bates said. "I'm anticipating a tough game, like always. Lakeland puts together a good program. It's not going to be a walk in the park, but I do think my boys are very capable. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens."
Rhinelander will then head to Mosinee on Thursday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected]
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