Late goals push Hodags past Waupaca

Through three games, the Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team is settling into a familiar script. The Hodags have let their opponents hang around well into the second half before finally putting them away with late goals.

The response from Rhinelander came very late on Tuesday. Vivian Lamers broke a scoreless tie in the 75th minute and the Hodags pulled away to a 2-0 victory over Waupaca at Mike Webster Stadium.

It marked the third straight game to start the season that the Hodags (3-0-0, 0-0-0-0 Great Northern) were tied at some point in the second half before scoring the final two goals to win.

The numbers showed that the Hodags had the better of play much of the night. Rhinelander had a 26-8 edge in total shots and a 12-3 edge in shots on goal. But the Hodags had trouble converting until late and dodged a couple of bullets as the Comets (0-2-0, 0-0-0 North Eastern) failed to put a chances on net when they had dangerous looks.

“We just had a lot of mistakes tonights,” Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. “The girls came out slow again. I don’t know if they’re tired or what’s going on, but it wasn’t our best performance tonight, not from what I’ve seen out of them this year. 

“They had some opportunities, but we also had five different one-on-ones with the goalkeeper tonight. Their goalie had a huge game tonight. I do agree there were moments where they had the attack on our end of it when it shouldn’t have been that way.”

The game seemed destined to a draw until Lamers delivered some late-game heroics. The freshman dispossessed a Comet defender on the right flank, just outside the Waupaca 18-yard box. She dribbled in from the right and fired a shot from 10 yards off the tips of Comet keeper Sophie Saunders’s hands and into the back of the net.

“Viv had a beautiful opportunity there and a beautiful shot that went in the back which was awesome to see,” Bates said.

    Rhinelander’s Emma Chiamulera tracks down a ball ahead of Waupaca’s Karisa Welsh during the first half of a non-conference girls’ soccer game against Waupaca at Mike Webster Stadium Tuesday, April 9. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The lead was nearly short-lived. Waupaca’s Mia Koehler tried to reply with a run up the left flank off the ensuing kickoff. She got an open look inside the 18, but Hodag keeper Mya Krouze pinned the ball to the left post — one of three saves for the Hodag senior on the night as she posted her second straight shutout.

Leah Jamison barely missed giving the Hodags an insurance goal in the 77th minute, as her shot from right of the 18 was pinned to the top right corner by Saunders. Junior Sophie Miljevich netted her team-leading fourth goal of the season in the dying moments. After dribbling out almost all of the clock she fired a shot just underneath the crossbar that went in with three seconds remaining. 

Up until the late salvo it proved to be a frustrating night for the Hodag offense. Rhinelander saw a number of chances on breakaways diffused by Saunders, who was not bashful about leaving her goalposts to snuff out any breaches in the Waupaca back line. Some of the offensive struggles Bates chalked up to being too predictable in the attack. 

“If we would have played and utilized our whole team to start the game off, I don’t think that ever would have been an issue but we did not,” he said. “We played more as individuals tonight versus what we have been doing and playing as a team. It shouldn’t have came down to the last 15 minutes of the game before we put goals in the back of the net. 

“The one-on-ones with the goalie, if our offensive players would have taken one step left or right, or shot sooner, that wouldn’t have been a factor.”

Though the Comets had fewer chances, they had some threatening moments. Three times in the first 10 minutes alone Waupaca had clean looks that either finished off target or were snuffed out by the back line at the last second.

Krouze came out of her goal to cut off a breakaway chance by Taylor Kling in the 58th minute. Karisa Welsh narrowly missed getting on a Kling cross to the back post in the 68th minute and freshman Bella Pucillo took an extra touch inside the 18 with an open look before pushing her chance wide left in the 70th minute. 

“Mya had a couple saves but they had a couple of threats there that definitely looked scary,” Bates said.

The end result was another victory, and one that should bolster Rhinelander’s playoff resume against a team in its half of the sectional bracket. Even though Bates admitted Tuesday’s game was not his side’s best performance, he said it’s good to iron out the wrinkles before the start of GNC play.

“Obviously, they’re sectional opponents that we want to play and see how they are moving on for playoffs but, at the same time, it’s great to get these opportunities and things out of the way prior to our conference matchups,” he said. “We’re going to continue to practice and continue to build. It’s early in the year and we have a lot of games left ahead of us.” 

The Hodags opened conference play on the road at Mosinee Thursday in a game that concluded after press time for today’s edition. Rhinelander will be back in action this coming Thursday at Medford.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].