September 26, 2022 at 8:42 a.m.
Hodag soccer stymied by GNC-leading Medford
Hodag soccer stymied by GNC-leading Medford
Zach Rudolph scored three times Thursday and Medford defeated Rhinelander 3-0 in Great Northern Conference play at Mike Webster Stadium.
The Hodags have only won once in their last seven meetings with the Raiders, dating back to the 2020 season. The previous two meetings were decided in penalty kick shootouts, but Rudolph and the Raiders ended the drama Thursday with a pair of early-second half goals.
The loss put Rhinelander four points behind Medford and Lakeland with four games remaining in the GNC season. Medford still has a game in hand on both Rhinelander and Lakeland after having a game against Northland Pines postponed to this afternoon.
"Medford had our number, apparently, and right now I'm not focused on conference any more," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. "It's trying to finish the season strong and move on to the playoffs."
Thursday's game marked only the second time this season Rhinelander (7-2-1, 3-2-0-1 Great Northern) has been shut out. The game had a similar feel to the other shutout at Lakeland back on Sept. 8.
Rudolph got things started in the second minute as he got away with contact through the back of Rhinelander's Kyle Wiese in the Hodag box, creating space for himself to finish a pass from Silas Wipf that gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead.
That advantage held through halftime, but the Raiders added to it just moments into the second on something that has been an Achilles' heel for the Hodags this season - defending free kicks in the attacking third.
This time the foul came on the edge of the attacking third, but Medford's Yonatan Murillo Aguirre perfectly placed a free kick on to Rudolph's head and Rudolph deflected it into the top left corner to give Medford a 2-0 advantage.
"It seems like the fouls are killing us this year. They scored another one tonight because of a free kick. If you add up all the free kick goals we've had this season, it's probably 98% of them. That's killing us," Bates said. "It seemed like when that second goal went in, the tide changed. The kids stopped playing as a team. Our communication shut down."
Medford made it 3-0 in the 49th minute. Adyn Gripentrog got through the Rhinelander defense on a well-timed run up the left flank for a 2-on-1 breakaway and then slotted to ball to Rudolph to finish his hat trick.
Medford outshot Rhinelander 17-10 in the match and the Hodags mustered only five shots on goal. Rhinelander nearly equalized the match in the third minute as Will Quinn found space just inside the 18. He drilled a shot off the bottom of the crossbar. The ball caromed straight down and never crossed the goal line.
Rhinelander did not pose a major threat again until the 65th minute when Shane Petrick's look from 25 yards was punched away by Medford keeper Ken Pace. Charlie Heck had a header opportunity on the ensuing corner kick, but Pace gobbled that up to keep the Hodags off the board.
"We had some opportunities. We didn't have as many (as Medford) and we knew that going into the game," Bates said. "We told the boys we're not going to get a lot of opportunities tonight and when we get those opportunities, we've got to make sure we're capitalizing on them. We had a couple of opportunities and they just didn't fall in."
Rhinelander and Medford once again engaged in a physical contest that ended up one-sided in the foul disparity. The Hodags were whistled for 17 fouls and received three yellow cards in the match.
"Not blaming anything on the refs tonight, it seemed like we couldn't buy a call tonight if we wanted to and it really took the morale out of the team big team," Bates said. "The boys were coming out to the sideline frustrated and they were very upset with the officiating this evening.
"Regardless, Medford's got a solid team. They moved the ball very, very well and they're very, very good. I don't think the score should have been 3-0, but after that second goal, our boys quit playing our game, that's for sure."
Though the regular season series between the Hodags and Raiders is over, there's certainly a chance the two sides could cross paths for a third straight year in the WIAA tournament. Bates said if there's a third meeting, the Hodags will need to do a much better job in the battle for the midfield.
"The biggest thing is we told them when they're moving, you've got to be moving with them," he said. "Our midfield, they're moving constantly and we told them, don't pick up the ball and wait until they have, you have to intercept the passes when they're happening and mark up on that person when they're making their runs. We didn't do that tonight."
Rhinelander returns to action at Northland Pines this coming Thursday followed by its final non-conference game at home against Shawano on Friday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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