May 18, 2023 at 3:41 p.m.
Hodag soccer sneaks past Pines 3-1
GNC title showdown vs. Lakeland ahead
Hodag soccer sneaks past Pines 3-1
The Hodags did not allow history to repeat itself Tuesday in front of a must-win game tonight for their conference title hopes.
Morgan Van Zile broke a 1-1 deadlock in the 59th minute and the Hodags benefitted from an own goal moments later as they got past Northland Pines 3-1 in Eagle River.
The win kept Rhinelander three points back of Lakeland heading into tonight's showdown between the conference leaders at Mike Webster Stadium. Lakeland nearly suffered its own stumble on Tuesday, needing a Maria Gironella goal in the 56th minute to slide past Medford 1-0 on the road.
Sam Larsen Field has been a bit of a house of horrors for the Rhinelander coach Nathan Bates over the past few years, with surprising draws and losses against the Eagles, but the Hodags (11-4-0, 7-1-0 Great Northern) avoided a setback on Tuesday.
"It was kind of a curse on Pines field, like it always is for the boys and the girls," he said. "The girls didn't have their worst game of the year, but not their best game, but they were able to pull it off. Friday's going to be a big test again. We're going to go out there and hopefully the girls are ready to play on Friday."
Rhinelander took the lead in the seventh minute as Van Zile dribbled in from the right flank and crossed the ball over to Leah Weigel, who knocked it in from the top of the six-yard box. That lead held until late in the first half, as a foul on one of the Eagles' few counterattack chances resulted in a 39th-minute Emma Weber penalty kick conversation.
"We had a lots of opportunities in the first half to put them in. We were in front of their net for a long time. Then we kind of fell flat for a while and the got a penalty kick on us," Bates said.
Van Zile finished an Ava Lamers cross to give Rhinelander the lead for good and Rhinelander had a stroke of good fortune in the 61th minute as Pines misplayed a deep send downfield by defender Maddie Mathwig and put it in the back of their own net. That was plenty of breathing room for the Hodags, who locked down and allowed Pines only one shot over the final 40 minutes.
"The second half, the girls kind of lit a fire again, came back out and started to play a bit better. Pines didn't have a lot for us the second half," Bates said.
The Hodags outshot the Eagles 32-5 overall. All five of Pines' shots were on frame and Mya Krouze turned away all but Weber's penalty kick to earn the victory in goal for Rhinelander.
It all sets the stage for a showdown tonight at Mike Webster against the defending GNC champion Thunderbirds and the runner-up Hodags. Lakeland holds the upper hand thanks to a 2-0 victory over Rhinelander in Minocqua back on April 27. Because of that, the only result tonight that would allow Rhinelander to maintain control of its conference title destiny is a win in regulation. Lakeland would effectively clinch the title with any other result, given that their final conference game is against winless Antigo.
Bates said it will be key tonight to slow down Lakeland's through ball game, which burnt the Hodags twice in the first matchup.
"We've seen what Lakeland has and how they play the game. Obviously, we're going to adjust accordingly for that," Bates said. "We're going to be paying attention to their long ball game that they like to play all season."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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