Team Preview: RHS boys’ soccer

Coach Nathan Bates said he is confident that his Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team will be a pretty strong squad by season’s end, but it may take a few learning moments along the way to get there.

With a young roster, Bates said it may take a little while for the team to put all the pieces together in the right spots as it looks to compete in what appears to be a wide open Great Northern Conference. 

“It’s going the be a struggle this year to get to that point,” he said. “At the end of the day we’re going to play it game-by-game and see what happens. It’s going to be a learning curve for the coaches and the players. The first couple of games, they’re going to be what they’re going to be. Either they’re going to come out on fire or it’s going to be a lot of changing of positions and trying to figure it out. It’s a long season, but we’ll get there.”

Bates is back at the helm after taking last year off to spend more time with his family and to watch his son, Landon, compete in his senior year for the Hodag football team. He’s back after last year’s interim coach, John Weigel, limited his role this season. He’s still helping he team on a part-time basis.

The Hodags have to replace seven seniors off of last year’s squad, including three who earned all-conference honors. Bates said he’s had to learn on the fly during the first week plus of practice, as he acquaints himself with a young roster.

“I’ve learned a lot this week with the boys. They’ve been working really hard, putting in a lot of effort at practices and conditioning, etc,” he said. “I feel like we’re doing well right now with the midfield and the offense. Defense, we’ve been having a lot with the coaches working with the defensive players.

“We have a pretty good group of seniors, in my opinion, right now. What shocked me this week is our underclassmen … We have a really, really good group of kids that are going to step up this year and surprise me with how good they are.” 

The Hodags will start to figure out what they have tonight as they host New London in a non-conference contest at Mike Webster Stadium. It’s the only non-conference tune up for the team prior to next Tuesday’s GNC opener at Medford. 

Rhinelander does bring back three players who made the all-GNC list last year. There will be stability in the goal with the return of keeper Barak Rappley. The senior earned first-team all-conference honors at the position last year, going 9-5-3 with a 1.24 goals against average and a .817 save percentage in his first year as the starter.

“Barak in the goal, he’s a force to be reckoned with back there. He’s, in my opinion, probably the best in the conference,” Bates said.

Otherwise, there are questions across the board and opportunities for players to step into varsity roles. Senior Hart Hokens is back after earning second-team honors as a defensive back last year. Whether he stays there or the team instead tries to utilize his speed in the attack remains to be seen. 

“We’re undecided right now,” Bates said. “That’s a thought process in my head, that we could utilize him up top but, at the end of the day, we like to build from the back and work our way up. Depending on the game, he might be in the backfield, might be on the offensive line.” 

The temptation is there to move Hokens into the attack because the team graduated its top three scorers from last year in Matthew King, Will Quinn and Will Gretzinger. Only two players who scored multiple goals last year have returned. Both of those players — senior Michael Schiek and sophomore Asher Rivord — scored twice. 

In particular, the Hodags will need to replace Quinn’s ability to facilitate in the midfield. Bates said sophomore Charlie Johnson has impressed so far in practice and is the leading candidate to fill that role. 

“We’ve all been very impressed with Charlie with how well he distributes the ball, his eagerness to learn,” Bates said. “He doesn’t have an off switch. He doesn’t quit and he’s doing a really good job there so far.”

Defensively, the team returns seniors Karter Massey and Aiden Ostermann from a back line that allowed just eight goals in conference play — second best in the GNC last year. 

One thing is certain, with a roster that is roughly two-thirds freshman and sophomores, a number of underclassmen will have to produce this year. Rivord is the only one of that group back with any significant varsity experience and scored a goal in last year’s first-round playoff win at Waupaca. In addition to Johnson, Bates said sophomore Aidan Lueder has shown flashes in practice and will likely factor into the attack. Beyond that, there are a lot of positions still up for grabs.

“I think the future’s pretty bright for this group of kids,” Bates said. “The first couple of games, obviously, it’s going to be a little wild. These kids haven’t played much together. Getting that team camaraderie and chemistry, that’s always half that battle. That’s what we’re focusing on right now.”

Where that leaves Rhinelander in the GNC remains to be seen. Mosinee is the defending conference champ, but lost all seven of its all-conference players to graduation and has a new head coach in Aaron Fiedler. Lakeland returns the most all-conference players (6) but graduated dynamic playmaker and GNC offensive player of the year Yaroslav Myshchyshyn. Medford and Antigo have new head coaches this year. Northland Pines has some returning talent after finishing fifth in the conference last year. 

That’s all to say the GNC race, at least on paper, is a crapshoot to start the season.

“I think you just kind of roll the dice and see what happens,” Bates said. “Mosinee had a big turnover, Lakeland had some losses, Medford. I think it’s anybody’s conference this year. It’s really who’s going to come out, who’s going to gel first and who wants it more.”

While Bates said he is always bullish on his squad to fare well, his expectations are tempered this year until he has a better gauge of what everyone in the conference truly has. 

“I would like to see us in the top three in the conference, that would be my end goal for the team,” he said. “Obviously, the No. 1 spot would be the best but, realistically, top three is what I’d like to see.” 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected]. 

TEAM SCHEDULE

Date    Opponent/Event    Time

8/27    NEW LONDON    7 p.m.

9/3    at Medford*    7 p.m.

9/5    ANTIGO*    7 p.m.

9/10    MOSINEE*     7 p.m.

9/12    at Lakeland*    7 p.m.

9/14    HODAG INVITE    10 a.m.

9/17    at Wausau East    7 p.m.

9/19    NORTHLAND PINES*    7 p.m.

9/23    WAUPACA    7 p.m.

10/3    at Antigo*    4 p.m.

10/8    LAKELAND*    7 p.m.

10/10    at Mosinee*    7 p.m.

10/15    MEDFORD*    7 p.m.

10/17    at Northland Pines*    7 p.m.

10/24     WIAA Regionals    TBA

10/26    WIAA Regionals    TBA

* Conference Game | HOME GAMES IN CAPS