March 30, 2023 at 8:42 a.m.
Team preview: RHS girls' soccer
Back in D3, Hodags have high hopes
Team preview: RHS girls' soccer
Rhinelander finished right on Lakeland's heels in the GNC last year but did not have nearly as much postseason success in Division 2, falling to DeForest in the regional final round.
The Hodags have dropped back below the enrollment cutline and now find themselves back in Division 3 this year. With a number of key players back from a squad that went 14-6-1 last year, there are plenty of high hopes and expectations for coach Nathan Bates' side this spring.
"I'm extremely excited to see what the girls have to offer this year," Bates said. "There's a lot of talent there and I think it should be a fun year."
The Hodags open an 18-game regular season schedule tomorrow at home in the Hodag Dome, taking on Shawano and Eau Claire North in a triangular.
Rhinelander brings back three of its seven all-conference players from a season ago. The biggest question mark comes on defense where the team graduated conference defensive player of the year Audrey Schiek along with backline mates Mabel Spencer and Eleanor Steffen.
Junior Emma Chiamulera is the only all-conference player returning from the defense.
"We lost a lot on our defense but, at the same time, if you looked at our JV squad from last year, we had a lot of good defensive players that should make up a lot of the ground," Bates said.
The Hodags had a chance to audition some candidates on the back line Tuesday as they scrimmaged Three Lakes in the Hodag Dome. Among those who saw time in the back with Chiamulera were seniors Annalyse Schoppe and Madelyn Mathwig, junior Hailey Gabor and sophomores Helena Wisner and Mia Tulowitzky.
"We've got some good speed on the back line which helps a lot on the breakaway situation and kind of gives you a little relief back there if the girl gets on the outside of us," Bates said. "I don't think there are too many that are going to outrun our whole back line."
Those who earn the remainder of the defensive starting positions will help to protect junior goalkeeper Mya Krouze, who returns after earning second-team honors in the GNC last year. She went last season 13-6-1 wit a 1.51 goals against average and a .760 save percentage. She had eight shutouts last year - including one against Lakeland
"Mya had a great season last year," Bates said. "Her confidence improved toward the end of last season. She put a lot of time in working out this year with the girls as well."
Rhinelander will miss the speed up top of all-conference striker McKenna Brown, but returns two of its top three scorers from last year in senior Ava Lamers and sophomore Sophie Miljevich.
Lamers was the top scorer overall in the GNC and a unanimous first-team selection. She finished the season with 81 points (30 goals and 21 assists) overall. Miljevich had 45 points (20 goals and five assists) last year as a freshman.
Junior Morgan Van Zile finished the season with 20 points, sophomore Leah Weigel had nine points and junior Leah Jamison had eight points. Bates said senior Nevaeh Rappley will also feature prominently in the attack while fellow senior Aubrey Younker handles the defensive midfielder position.
In Lamers, Miljevich and Van Zile, the Hodags have three of the top five returning scorers in the GNC from last season.
"Ava, in my mind, was the best in the conference," he said. "Our midfield line is very deadly. You've got Ava in there. You've got Aubrey in there, Leah Jamison. Ava led the conference in assists and led with goals as well. She really facilitated very, very well.
"Sophie and Leah Weigel, they showed us a lot last year as freshmen. We lose some speed up top, but Mo (Van Zile) and Soph and Nevaeh, they're no slouches when it comes to speed. Sophie's extremely quick. Nevaeh's extremely quick. Morgan Van Zile is sneaky quick."
Lamers was back on her scoring form Tuesday, scoring four times during the scrimmage against Three Lakes. Van Zile also had a tally for the Hodags in the event. Bates said it was a good chance to work on the team's offensive philosophy this season.
"We're working on our possession game," he said. "I really want to get into (being) a big passing team this year. The girls are doing really well with moving the ball. We had a lot of good opportunities tonight, unselfish play where the girls were passing the ball, going a lot of good give-and-goes and overlaps and things like that. We're going to continue to do that. I don't want to be just a through ball team. I want to be able to utilize our passing game like we did tonight and build off that for the season."
Rhinelander figures to close the gap on Lakeland, which graduated four first-team selections from last year, including its two leading scorers in Sophia Myshchyshyn and Leah Wolfe, along with starting keeper Naomi Hamerla.
Mosinee could factor in the mix this year, led by junior Katelyn Selle, who had 11 goals in league play last year. Then there's Northland Pines, which played spoiler in the GNC race last year. The Eagles took Rhinelander to a shootout that ultimately proved to be the one point that cost the Hodags a share of the conference title with Lakeland.
"Lakeland did lose a lot of key pieces, but they have a great program," Bates said. "They also have a really, really good coaching staff over there. Steph (Hartzheim) and Ihor (Myshchyshyn) are great coaches. You never underestimate them. We always have a battle with them.
"Rodney (Sternhagen), up at Northland Pines, he's my nemesis. He's one of my best friends and I love coaching against him, but Rodney, you can never underestimate Northland Pines. They always put together a good program. Bottom line is you can't underestimate anyone in the conference. Selle's returning this year for Mosinee. She was a great player. We'll find out in the first couple of weeks what's going on here and what's going to happen. But, if I'm going to throw a bet on it, I'm going to bet on my girls all day long."
Four of Rhinelander's five conference rivals will join the Hodags in the Division 3 regional. Northland Pines (D4) is the lone exception. The Hodags are also slated to see much of the rest of the regional bracket. Rhinelander will host Ashland this coming Monday and will head to Waupaca May 13 where it will square off against the Comets, as well as Amherst/
Iola-Scandinavia.
It's a far cry from the regional draw the Hodags had last year where DeForest was the No. 2 seed and defeated Rhinelander 10-0 in the regional finals. But the Norskis then lost to eventual state qualifier Sauk Prairie, which ousted the Hodags from the playoffs two years ago.
"They're pretty excited to be back in that division," Bates said of the drop back to D3. "That's a real good thing to see they're back in that division. The division thing was a big one this year for the girls to put them back in Division 3 versus Division 2. I think we'll be a lot more competitive going into the playoffs than we were last year and the year before that."
Bates is looking for back-to-back trips to the WIAA state tournament, after guiding the Hodag boys to Milwaukee this past November. For the Hodag girls to match the feat, he said it will take a same intangibles that helped the boys' squad.
"The girls have to buy into what you're selling and you also have to have a great team atmosphere within the team," he said. "That's what the boys had that was so special. They're all friends. Wherever you see one, they're all together. The girls need to get that unity together as well. They all need to be best friends, together on and off the field. They've got be able to believe in each other and trust in each other."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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