Hodag soccer can’t rebound from early PK, falls to Lakeland

If the Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team falls short in its efforts to win the Great Northern Conference title, it will once again look back at a penalty kick it wasn’t able to stop and a defense it was unable to breach.

That’s how it went down Tuesday night as the Hodags fell to Lakeland 1-0 in a matchup for first place in the GNC at Mike Webster Stadium. 

Josie Wentland converted a penalty kick for the T-Birds in the eighth minute and the Hodags, despite outshooting Lakeland 11-3 in the second half, could not find the equalizer. It marked the fourth consecutive game in the Rhinelander-Lakeland rivalry decided by a 1-0 result — with three of those four games falling in favor of the T-Birds.

That loss, coupled with a penalty kick shootout loss to Medford following a 0-0 draw earlier in the season, puts the Hodags five points behind the T-Birds at the halfway point of the GNC season. As a result, Rhinelander is no longer in control of its own destiny in the conference title race. 

“It’s unfortunate. I can’t be disappointed in the girls,” Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. “We had a mistake in the beginning that cost us the game, but it happens. It’s soccer. But the girls, in my opinion, pressed really hard the whole game after.”

    Rhinelander’s Alexis Smith tries to avoid the ball during the first half of a GNC girls’ soccer game against Lakeland at Mike Webster Stadium Tuesday, April 30. The ball struck Smith in the elbow, resulting in a penalty kick and a Lakeland goal. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

That mistake was a handball foul inside the Rhinelander penalty area that led to Wentland’s score. The ball bounded inside the box following a Lakeland corner kick and deflected off the bottom of freshman defender Alexis Smith’s elbow. Wentland took the ensuing penalty to the right post. Rhinelander keeper Mya Krouze guessed to the correct side, but was unable to get a hand on the shot.

“I don’t think there was anything else we could have done there, it was just an unlucky break. That’s all it was and we’ve just got to move on from it,” Bates said.

    Rhinelander goalkeeper Mya Krouze attempts to save a penalty kick by Lakeland’s Josie Wentland during the first half of a GNC girls’ soccer game at Mike Webster Stadium Tuesday, April 30. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Lakeland seemed to have Rhinelander on the back foot early, with a few good looks in the opening 15 minutes. The T-Birds held a 5-2 edge in shots in the first half and the Hodags failed to put a shot on frame over the first 40 minutes as they trailed 1-0 at halftime.

The second half was a much different story as Lakeland fell back into a defensive shell. Rhinelander had most of the play and the pressure, but could not find a way home.

“They came out on fire. We knew they were going to come out hot and heavy and then, once they settled in, they didn’t offer us much,” Bates said. “That’s kind of the way it was. We passed circles around them and we pressed hard and they couldn’t really answer back. We just couldn’t find the back of the net. We had some pretty good looks here in the second half and, unfortunately, we just couldn’t put one in the back of the net.”

Sophie Miljevich had a strong chance in the 46th minute for Rhinelander, but her free kick from outside 35 yards was tipped over the crossbar by Lakeland keeper Ava Evenhouse and the Hodags were not able to mount anything threatening off the ensuing corner kick. Lindsey Hoerchler found space inside in the 70th minute, but was denied on a shot to the near post. Evenhouse denied an Ella Miljevich look in the 72nd minute and a hard shot from Vivian Lamers in the 77th.

The Hodag offense has now been shutout for more than 200 minutes of soccer, having not scored since a four-goal barrage in the opening half of last Thursday win Northland Pines. Bates said his team can’t do much more than keep shooting and hope that, eventually, some of its pressure will result in a needed goal. 

“Everything we’re doing is all you can do. They stuff the box and put seven, eight people in there, it makes it hard to do,” he said. “Everything the girls are doing, really, that’s all you can do, try to work them outside and hit shots from the outside. We tried that. They have a good goalkeeper, so it’s hard to make shots drop like that, but that’s all we can do.”

Rhinelander will have a rematch with Lakeland May 21 in Minocqua, but will need some help for that match to have any bearing on the conference race. Because of Rhinelander’s penalty-kick loss to Medford, all Lakeland needs to do is beat the other four conference teams in regulation the second time through the schedule to lock up the championship outright.

“We’re going to have to run the table here, hope for some luck and see what happens,” Bates said. “I’m not even focused on conference right now. I just want the girls to continue to grow as the season goes on and try to make a deep run in playoffs.”

The Hodags are off the remainder of the week and will begin the second half of conference play at home against Mosinee this coming Tuesday. Rhinelander may need that time to recuperate after two starters went down with injuries during the second half of Tuesday’s match. Morgan Van Zile took a kicked ball to the face in the 66th minute and Leah Weigel left with an apparent knee injury after contact with Lakeland’s Elsa Shockley in the 72nd minute. Neither player returned to the contest. 

“We’ve got some banged up girls after tonight. It’s a good week to have off,” Bates said. “They are two big pieces. We do have a pretty good, deep bench this year with some younger players so I think we’ll be OK.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].