September 14, 2022 at 11:39 a.m.
Quinn's second-half goals lead RHS past Mosinee
Quinn's second-half goals lead RHS past Mosinee
Quinn scored twice, including the game-winner in the 72nd minute, as the Hodags edged Mosinee 3-2 in GNC play at Mike Webster Stadium.
It was yet another hard-fought game in conference play for Rhinelander. The Hodags have either been tied or trailing with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation in all four league games so far, but Rhinelander prevailed this time to move into third in the conference standings, four points back of Medford and one point behind Lakeland.
"It was a needed win," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "The boys passed the ball tonight very, very well. We were clicking a lot of times, good through balls, good give-and-goes. We had a lot of shots tonight."
The Hodags dominated play, outshooting Mosinee 33-8, but needed a trio of opportunistic chances to fend off a Mosinee side that twice converted off free kicks in the second half.
Quinn ultimately netted the winner as the ball clanged around in the Hodag attacking third following a late corner kick. The ball came out to Braden Mork roughly 20 yards from goal, who flicked it to a wide open Quinn on the back post for a one-touch finish.
"All I saw at first was a flash of black coming on the back side of a mess of people and it was Will and he put in," Bates said. "Perfect timing, beautiful run he made and it was a great shot. That was awesome."
Mork had Rhinelander's other goal, opening the scoring in the 16th minute in another scrum off a corner kick. Charlie Heck nearly headed in the corner, but Mosinee defender Colton Blank cleared it from the goal line. Blank's clearance glanced off of Rhinelander's Kyle Wiese just outside the 18 and deflected to Mork for a wide-open look from 20 yards.
"Braden, you give him any sort of time to set up a shot, you better watch out, because it's going in," Bates said. "If you give him ample time to set something up, he's deadly. He showed that again tonight."
Quinn gave Rhinelander a 2-1 lead in the 48th minute, chipping a shot from 30 yards that took a big hop inside the six-yard box, deflected off Mosinee keeper Keaton Wieloch's hands and into the back of the net.
"Will's a great player. He put in a lot of work in the offseason this year and it shows on the field," Bates said of Quinn's two-goal night. "He's been out there handling a lot of business and doing great in the center-mid position. Every time we put him up top, he's somebody to be reckoned with. He's got great footwork, he plays the game very well and he's an extremely smart player on the field."
The Hodags were whistled for 11 fouls in the match, which worked to their detriment in the second half. After Matthew King was called for a push just outside the Hodag box, Garret Donohue snuck a free kick over Rhinelander keeper Cooper Radke and underneath the crossbar to pull Mosinee level at 1-all in the 44th minute.
Following a Wiese push in the 61st minute, Jaegar Dhein went quickly on a free kick from 50 yards, putting Carter Daul on a run through the middle of a not-yet-set Hodag defense. That led to a breakaway goal.
"I wish we could just curb some of our attitude some times, which cost us two goals tonight," Bates said. "It seems to be a theme lately, the amount of fouls we've been getting. But, hey, one positive thing is somebody actually got more yellow cards tonight than we did. We're in an upward swing, in my opinion, off of that."
Four yellow cards were issued during the match, with Wiese getting booked for Rhinelander. Dhein, Daul and Caden Schmirler were all cautioned for Mosinee.
Rhinelander finished with a 15-4 edge in shots on goal. Radke made two saves in the victory for the Hodags.
After being critical of his team's play in a 2-0 loss last Thursday at Lakeland, Bates said Tuesday's contest much more resembled Hodag soccer.
"As a team, I'd say we played one of our best games that we've played since the beginning of the season," he said. "We were moving the ball very, very well, communication was on point. All and all we had a great game tonight against a very good team."
Rhinelander (5-1-1, 2-1-0-1 Great Northern) rounded out the first half of conference play Thursday at Antigo in a match that concluded after press time for today's edition. Rhinelander is back in action tonight in non-conference play at Rice Lake, who was the state qualifier out of the Hodags' Division 3 sectional a year ago.
"I gave the boys (Wednesday) off. I figured it was a good day to give them some down time. It's a busy week with a tough opponent," Bates said. "We're going to head to Rice Lake on Friday. They're on the other side of the bracket, so we'll go and see what they have."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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