September 19, 2022 at 11:11 a.m.
Hodag soccer scores wins over Rice Lake, Antigo
Hodag soccer scores wins over Rice Lake, Antigo
That win came on the heels of an 8-0 trouncing of Antigo on the road Thursday. Both victories seemed to show the Hodags (7-1-1, 3-1-0-1 Great Northern) are rounding back into form just in time for the second half of the Great Northern Conference season.
"The last couple of games have really showed what they boys are capable of doing," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "We had a couple of games were we had a lull there that I wasn't impressed with but the last couple of games it looks like the boys are back."
Rhinelander 4, Rice Lake 2
Shane Petrick recorded a hat trick Friday, and assisted on the Hodags' other tally, as Rhinelander knocked off a WIAA Division 3 state qualifier from last year and a potential sectional final opponent, should the Hodags make a deep postseason run.
Petrick put the Hodags ahead 1-0 in the 14th minute and goals by Kyle Wiese and Petrick 95 seconds apart in the 55th and 57th minutes gave the Hodags enough cushion to withstand a couple of late Warrior goals.
"They're on cloud nine right now, putting a beating on a team like they did tonight is pretty impressive," Bates said. "The kids came out and they did their research on how Rice Lake's been doing over the years. They were going into the game knowing we were playing a tough team. They came out on top because they worked together as a team from start to finish."
Wiese applied pressure and got Warrior goalkeeper Samuel Jevne out of position in the 13th minute. With three defenders crashing the goal line to try to deny Wiese's close opportunity, Wiese dropped the ball back to Petrick, who finished from 15 yards.
Wiese made it 2-0 for the Hodags in the 55th minute as he and Petrick made a 2-on-2 run against the Rice Lake back line. The ball came from midfield to Petrick making a run up the right flank and he slotted the ball to Wiese, who positioned himself between the center back and the keeper for a tap in from six yards.
Rhinelander was back on the attack just moments later as Garrett Younker had an open look from the top left corner of the 18. Instead of taking the shot, he slid the ball to Petrick crashing in from the right side. Jevne made the initial save, but the ball caromed back to Petrick, who headed in the rebound.
"We ran their defense really hard tonight," Bates said. "We had Kyle Wiese up top, Shane up top, Will Gretzinger. In the midfield, we kept our pressure with Braden Mork, Andrew Henrichs, Will Quinn, Garrett Younker. Our defense stayed the same it's been the last couple of games and they played amazing."
The Warriors got one back in the 63rd minute in what has been a common theme as of late against the Hodag defense. A foul set up a Rice Lake free kick at the edge of the attacking third. Cooper Radke made the save on the initial shot, but Samuel Borgen won the race for the rebound and tapped it home.
"Penalties have been our enemy this season. It's haunting us every game it seems like, unfortunately," Bates said.
Petrick added his final tally in the 71st minute, converting a breakaway off a cross from Braden Mork. Borgen rounded out the scoring in the 79th minute, redirecting a Pierce Hastreiter cross for the Warriors.
Rhinelander outshot Rice Lake 34-17 in the match and had a 15-5 edge in shots on goal.
"Throughout the whole game we had the majority of the possession," Bates said. "Rice Lake has a really good, solid team. They were a very good possession team, but the boys were clicking on all cylinders tonight. They were moving the ball."
Rhinelander 8, Antigo 0
The Hodag offense seemed to find its groove a day prior to the Rice Lake win as goals came in bunches during an 8-0 rout of the Robins at Listle Field.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Rhinelander scored three times in a nearly 4-minute span to take a 3-0 lead to halftime and then added five more goals in the first 17 minutes of the second to end the game at the 60-minute mark via the mercy rule.
The overmatched Robins committed the majority of their personnel to defense and Bates said it took awhile for his side to figure out how to break through the congestion.
"They were plugging the middle and the boys were trying to feed the ball in the middle," he said. "We made a couple of slight adjustments, making the kids spread the field out quite a bit. Once we cracked that, the end result is what it is."
Petrick, Wiese and Mork all scored twice Thursday. Petrick got things started in the 22nd minute off a cross from Mork. Charlie Heck headed home an Andrew Henrichs corner kick in the 26th minute to double the lead and Mork scored a mere 47 seconds late to make it 3-0.
Wiese and Mork scored 41 seconds apart to make it 5-0 in the 43rd minute. Will Gretzinger finished a Wiese cross in the 51st minute. Petrick cashed in on a breakaway in the 55th minute and Wiese did the same in the 57th.
Wiese, who played more of a defensive role in the first half of the season, has been featured more prominently in the attack of late.
"We've been kind of flip-flopping things around here, we have Mason (Shinners) out right now, obviously, and we're trying to fill that void," Bates said. "We'll been moving Kyle (to the) middle and Charlie middle, Kyle up top. I think moving him up today was the right decision. He's aggressive up there. He's great at feeding the ball and he's great at finishing. He did a good job today."
The Hodags outshot the Robins 50-1 in the match. Antigo did not record a shot on goal.
Medford rematch
Up next, the Hodags will begin the second half of GNC play at home Thursday night against conference-leading Medford. The last two matches between the teams - including the GNC opener Aug. 30 - resulted in 1-1 draws. The Raiders won subsequent penalty kick shootouts both times.
"We're looking forward to it. We want to take them on home turf and we're looking forward to it," Bates said. "The boys want a rematch. I think it's going to be another great soccer game, like it always seems to be with us and Medford. If the boys continue to play the way they're playing right now - playing their game and not someone else's game - we could have a different result this time around."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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