Hodag soccer falls to Mosinee in regional finals

MOSINEE — The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team had one playoff upset in it but, unlike last year, the squad was unable to string together a Cinderella run to the WIAA state tournament.

Rhinelander, as the No. 5 seed, knocked off Waupaca 2-1 on the road Thursday night but saw its season come to an end with a 2-0 loss to top-seeded Mosinee on Saturday. 

The Hodags, who recorded a 1-1 tie and a 1-0 loss against Mosinee during the regular season, were not able to keep up with the Indians’ possession game on Saturday night. Two first-half goals proved to be the difference as Rhinelander’s season ended with a 9-5-3 record.

“I told them to hold their heads up high, don’t let one game define them,” coach John Weigel said. “Those seniors that are leaving had a helluva career. They’ve won conference. They’ve won regionals. They’ve won sectionals. They’re part of the first (Rhinelander) boys’ team to make it to state last year. They’ve had a great career, just wasn’t their time this year.”

With a stiff northerly breeze at its back, Mosinee controlled the first half of play — outshooting Rhinelander 16-4 over the first 40 minutes. They bookended the half with a pair of similar-looking plays that put the Hodags behind the 8-ball. 

Cole Kowalski got free near the top of the 18 in the seventh minute and fired a hard shot to the right post past keeper Barak Rappley that gave Mosinee a 1-0 edge. The Indians then added a key insurance goal with 21 seconds left before halftime as Jaegar Dhein also found space near the top of the 18 and launched a rocket inside the left post. 

“They had a couple of good looks and they put them away. That’s the difference, obviously,” coach Weigel said. “We had some good looks but we just didn’t capitalize on them, just some squandered attacks there that didn’t amount to a whole lot.”

Quality scoring chances were few and far between for Rhinelander in the match. Matthew King had a look at the top of the 6 deflected wide for a corner kick in the ninth minute, but the Hodags could not generate any looks of the ensuing set piece. Will Gretzinger lifted a long-range shot from 35 yards into the wind in the 33rd minute that settled into the arms of Mosinee keeper Ben Harris. Hart Hokens, pushed into the attack early in the second half, barely missed the upper right corner on a shot from the edge of the 18 in the 50th minute and Neil Weigel took a hard one-touch shot from range in the 53rd minute that Harris denied. 

Mosinee had plenty of chances to pad its advantage. Defender Aidan Ostermann cleared a look by Dhein off the goal line in the 25th minute and Rappley finished the night with 14 saves overall.

“Mosinee’s a good team. They beat us straight out tonight. They’ll be a hard team to beat for whoever they face,” coach Weigel said. “The way they play, they have a good midfield. We tried to come up with some plans to settle that in on them there, but they got some good passing going. Joe (Carlson)’s got a good team on his hands.” 

Mosinee moved on to face Lakeland in the sectional semifinals on Thursday. Lakeland rallied for three unanswered goals to fend off Shawano 4-3 on Saturday.

Rhinelander 2, Waupaca 1 

    Rhinelander’s Will Gretzinger heads the ball during the first half of a WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal boys’ soccer game at Waupaca Thursday, Oct. 19. Gretzinger’s header goal in the second half was the difference as the Hodags defeated the Comets, 2-1. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

The Hodags got to Saturday night’s regional final thanks to a hard-fought road win against fourth-seeded Waupaca on Thursday. 

Gretzinger headed in a cross from Michael Schiek in the 64th minute, which was the difference maker in a 2-1 result. 

The Hodags pressured the flanks on the game-winning goal, with Schiek making a tough cross from near the end line on the right side of the box to Gretzinger, who was stationed on the back post to nod the ball home. Coach Weigel said it was satisfying to see, especially considering how Rhinelander’s offense fell into a rut at points during the season while repeatedly trying to beat the defense head-on.

“Sometimes you work on things in practice and you just wait for the game when they can actually take the things we’ve worked on and execute them,” he said. “It makes you proud. They put in the hard work and it was awesome to see that.”

Waupaca’s Ricky Tesch was credited with a goal in the 20th minute after the ball bounded around perilously in the Hodag box following an penalty kick. A review of the play after the game by the River News determined the score to be an own goal as King tried to clear the ball off the goal line. That clearance appeared to strike another Hodag defender and carom into the net. 

“We had a bunch of bodies down there, I thought it even might have been an own goal, but it just bounced around a little too much. Too many bodies in the box there,” coach Weigel said.

Rhinelander answered with a similar play to level the match in the 28th minute as Waupaca struggled to clear a corner kick. Will Quinn had a point-blank chance denied but the ball came out to freshman Asher Rivord near the top of the 6 and he put home the rebound.

“He’s super excited. I think his adrenaline is still going,” Weigel said. “He’s got two goals this year as a freshman and he plays super aggressive up top. I love the way he plays and he’s got a bright future for him up there.”

Rhinelander won Thursday night’s game despite being outshot 19-8 in the match. Rappley made six saves in the win. 

“They were tough competitors tonight. They made us work for that win, but I’m happy we got those two to fall,” coach Weigel said. “I think they had the majority of the plays, but some of the plays we did have were really good, really quality plays. I was proud to see that.”  

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].