April 17, 2023 at 9:43 a.m.
Hodag soccer rides early surge, defeats Medford 6-0
Hodag soccer rides early surge, defeats Medford 6-0
Ava Lamers and Sophie Miljevich each scored twice as the Hodags cruised to a 6-0 win over Medford at Mike Webster Stadium.
The final result could easily have been more lopsided. Medford's Sophie Brunner made 14 saves and the Hodags changed things up offensively after scoring all six goals in the first 24 minutes of the match.
"We came out on fire right away, like we talked about," Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. " There was a lot of good chemistry tonight, a lot of good passing, a lot of unselfish play going on - things we worked on in practice, talked about and wanted film on. The chemistry tonight looked really, really good."
Rhinelander jumped on Medford quickly, scoring twice by the fifth minute and up 5-0 by the quarter-hour mark.
Lamers, who now leads the Hodags with five goals on the year, got things started in the third minute with one touch off a Miljevich throw in to create space at the top of the 18. From there she fired a shot to the top right corner of the goal, deflecting her shot in off the right goalpost.
The Hodags then got a bit of good fortune in the fifth minute as a Miljevich lob toward goal off a corner kick was misplayed by a Medford defender, who instead of clearing the shot off the goal line inadvertently kneed the ball into her own net.
Leah Weigel scored on a through ball from Leah Jamison in the 11th minute. Lamers made a run through defenders off a Miljevich pass in the 13th minute, finally finding space 15 yards out for an upper-left strike. Miljevich scored her first goal of the season just more than a minute later, a one-touch shot off a Weigel cross into the box. Miljevich rounded out the scoring in the 24th minute on a drive inside the box off a Lamers cross following a corner kick.
"Soph had a couple of assists, a couple of nice goals. Ava, same thing," Bates said. "Leah Weigel had a really nice finish. It was also nice to see on the corner kicks, the girls had some really good opportunities. We capitalized off one of our set pieces again tonight. It was a great night tonight."
The Hodags had plenty more chances throughout the match - they took 40 shots in the contest - but were unable to add to their total. Rhinelander finished the night with 20 shots on goal, many of which were knocked away by Brunner.
"Their goalkeeper had some crazy saves. The score was six, but their goalie is MVP tonight for their team for sure. She's a great goalkeeper. I was very impressed watching them," Bates said.
Rhinelander used the large cushion as an opportunity to experiment and move some players around into the attack. Lamers saw time at striker with Jamison taking Lamers' role in the middle. The Hodags also moved their wings around at times.
"We were moving Ava around. We were moving Soph around," Bates said. "We dropped Leah Weigel back in the midfield. We were experimenting a little bit, but it didn't seem to change much. We were still getting a lot of good opportunities and good passing. We're just trying to get ready for late in the season when we have to change some things up. I think Leah Jamison actually did a pretty good job in the middle tonight. I was very happy to see the was able to hold her own in there and distribute the ball very well."
Medford managed only four shots in the match. Three were saved by junior Mya Krouze who recorded her first shutout of the season.
Bates said his team is slowly beginning to round into form as it enters the heart of its Great Northern Conference schedule.
"The girls, the first few games, were getting the rust out, and they still are. It's still really early in the season but every game's been an improvement every single time," he said.
The Hodags have only one match this week, a home contest against Antigo tonight in the Hodag Dome. The game was originally scheduled for Antigo but moved due to snow. The Hodags will now visit Listle Field Friday, May 5.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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