Team review: RHS boys’ soccer

Though Nathan Bates was back on the sidelines following a one-year hiatus, the RHS boys’ soccer team he returned to was a far cry from the one he led to the WIAA state tournament in 2022.

With only a couple of seniors back from that squad, the Hodags went through a transitional year in 2024, experiencing growing pains along the way. The end result was a 4-10-2 record, a fourth-place finish in the Great Northern Conference and a first-round exit in the WIAA tournament.

“Strange year with the difference in age. We had a lot of younger kids and we had some older boys. It took awhile for us to get our stuff together,” Bates said earlier this month during the team’s banquet. “You guys had a lot of good stuff you did this year and I’m proud of what you guys accomplished. We had our ups, we had our downs but, all and all, toward the end of the season I’m really proud about how you guys finished.”

Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.

Lowlights

Though the Hodags went unbeaten through their first three Great Northern Conference games, things took a turn against eventual conference champion Lakeland on Sept. 12. The Hodags lost that game 3-0, and keeper Barak Rappley sustained a knee to the head that kept him out of a number of games during the middle of the season. 

That started a rough stretch of the season in which the Hodags went 1-7-0 from Sept. 12 to Oct. 3. That included a 1-0 loss on the road at Antigo — the first time the Hodags have lost to the Red Robins as a member of the Great Northern Conference. 

Things were particularly shaky late in September when the squad conceded 17 goals in a string of three games between Wausau East, Northland Pines and Waupaca.

“Until we can become a team, we’re not going to have a great season,” Bates said following a 5-1 loss to Waupaca Sept. 23. “I hate to say it but, right now, we’re not becoming a team yet. It’s very evident. When we do have good stuff happen, it’s because we’re all clicking, we’re communicating and we’re playing as a team. But, unfortunately, we have not had enough time where … we just haven’t clicked, man. We just have not become a team and I’m not sure why yet but I’m hoping before the season’s over we can have that happen.”

Highlights

Though Mosinee finished ahead of Rhinelander in the conference standings, Rhinelander swept last year’s conference champions during the regular season with a 2-0 win over the Indians at Mike Webster Stadium Sept. 10, followed by a 2-1 triumph at Mosinee exactly one month later. 

Rhinelander then played Medford to a 1-1 draw and avenged a shootout loss to the Raiders earlier in the year by defeating Medford on penalties in the final home game of the year. That was followed by a competitive 2-0 defeat at Northland Pines, which had the Hodags feeling some momentum going into the playoffs.

“The last two games, in my opinion have been the two best games we’ve had all season as a team,” Bates said after the Pines game. “They’re moving the ball well. They’re actually starting to show that they’re starting to play together as a team, which is really, really nice to see.”

Seeing red

Unfortunately for Rhinelander, its playoff upset bid never really got off the ground as it fell 4-1 on the road at New London. The Bulldogs went up 3-0 in the first half and Rhinelander’s comeback bid was stopped in the second half following two red cards in the final 10 minutes, which left the Hodags to finish the game with only nine men. Both red cards were the result of second yellow cards issued during a whistle-happy affair.

“Some of them I do fell they were needed, a couple of the yellow cards. Some of them I didn’t think were needed at all. I don’t think they should have been yellow cards,” Bates said. “I don’t really understand what the red cards really were, other than they were second yellows but, in my opinion, I didn’t feel they were worthy of a second yellow. We’ve played a lot tougher games, a lot more physically at this level and I felt like some of them were pretty soft yellows, to be honest with you.”

Red cards were an alarming trend for the Hodags, who were dealt four of them during the season. The first came in the regular season opener against New London, followed by another in the 1-0 loss at Antigo, and two more in the finale.

Statbook

    In this Oct. 3, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Karter Massey takes the ball away from Antigo’s Trenton Walbeck during a GNC boys’ soccer game in Antigo. Massey was voted the co-defensive player of the year in the GNC. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

While the Hodags had some defensive woes, especially during the middle potion of the season, the team finished third in the GNC allowing 2.0 goals per conference game, and fourth among conference teams conceding 2.4 goals per game in all competitions. 

Senior Karter Massey anchored the Hodags’ back line and earned co-defensive player of the year honors from the GNC. 

“Karter Massey, I also believe he’s one of the better players in the conference on defense,” Bates said. “Karter was the force back there.”

Offensively is where the Hodags took a significant step backward. The team scored only nine times in conference play and 14 times overall this season, compared to 16 goals in the GNC and 30 overall in 2023. 

The Hodags graduated most of the offensive firepower from its 2023 campaign and moved speedy defender Hart Hokens into the attack this year. He proved to by the Hodags’ top offensive weapon — scoring seven of the team’s 14 goals on the campaign. 

“He took on a really big feat this year, moving from the defensive side to playing offense for the team, which is what we needed,” Bates said. “He did a great job. Every team we played against this year, with his speed and aggression and everything else, he gave them a hard team to play against and they remembered him.”

Only two other players scored multiple goals for Rhinelander this year — sophomore Aidan Lueder (3) and senior Michael Schiek (2). 

On the other end Rappley, despite missing time, posted solid numbers in his senior campaign. He went 4-8-2 on the year with a 1.76 goals against average and a .810 save percentage. Freshman Caden Ehrhardt was pressed into duty during Rappley’s absence, going 0-2-0 with a 5.33 goals against average and a .647 save percentage. With Rappley out and Ehrhardt shaken up during a non-conference game at Wausau East, the Hodags turned to Aiden Ostermann in an emergency goalkeeping situation. He made seven saves and allowed three goals over roughly 60 minutes of action. 

What’s next

The Hodags will have even more shoes to fill next year with the graduation of a number of seniors — including Hokens and Schiek from the attack, Massey, Ostermann and John Turek from the defense and Rappley in goal. 

Lueder will be the only Hodag back who scored multiple goals during the season. The team will also bring back a pair of all-conference players in forward Asher Rivord and midfielder Charlie Johnson. 

“It was a rebuild year for the program,” Bates said. “We’re going to miss the seniors we had on the team. They brought a lot to the program and they did a great job this year. I’m looking forward to seeing what these younger guys do in the future. There’s still a lot of talent left on the team. I think the kids can pull it back together and put it on the board.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].