Sent Wau-packing: Top-seeded Hodags upset by Comets in regional finals

There will be no chance at revenge this year for the Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team. The Hodags hopes of a deep run in the WIAA tournament came to a sudden halt Saturday when the fourth-seeded Waupaca Comets came into Mike Webster Stadium and upset Rhinelander 2-1 in a WIAA Division 2 regional final.

Ava Kneer had a goal and assisted Taylor Kling’s go-ahead strike in the 42nd minute. The Comets outplayed the Hodags for long stretches of the match and came away with the victory. 

The Hodags were looking to move on to the sectional semifinals where they would have had a chance to avenge one of their regular season losses. As it turned out, it would have been against Ashland which upset Lakeland 1-0 in the other regional final Saturday night. Instead, the Hodags were left to wonder what might have been as their season came to an end short of the sectional rounds for the third time in four years. 

“All I can say is I’m really proud of our young group of  girls that we have there and I look forward to getting back after her again next year,” Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. “I mean, that’s all you can do. Come out here, play as hard as you can for the full 80 minutes, and see how things shake out. And unfortunately, tonight, it wasn’t our night.”

Rhinelander struck first Saturday night as Vivian Lamers tucked a shot inside the right post off a drop pass from freshman Jordan Manske in the ninth minute but, even early on, there were signs that Waupaca was going to be more than the Hodags bargained for.

The Comets, who had blitzed Medford 7-0 two nights prior in the regional semifinals, had two dangerous looks in the first three minutes of the game. Bella Pucillo was denied on a strong outside look in the second minute and Rhinelander keeper Rylee Mickevicius stopped Kling’s look to the top shelf in the this minute. 

Waupaca drew level in the 27th minute after a foul on Rhinelander’s Hayley Schiek gave the Comets a direct free kick from roughly 35 yards out. Kneer took the kick and tucked the ball over a leaping Mickevicius and under the crossbar to equalize the game. 

The Comets went in front moments into the second half when Kling found a bit of separation in the box and was in perfect position to nod home a Kneer corner kick.

“I watched a lot of their games and they’re very, very deadly on their corner kicks this year,” Bates said. “I saw that. It was a beautifully-placed shot she had. I mean, Rylee tried for it, but it seemed like she just didn’t judge it well.

“When they put the second one in, I mean, they had just surge of energy, the remainder of the game. They just, they got the better end of us tonight. I mean, it’s unfortunate. I hate the season come to an end.”

Rhinelander had a few looks to tie the game in the second half, but could never find the equalizer. Sophie Miljevich was denied on hard shots from the right flank in the 46th and 50th minutes, both on diving stops by Waupaca keeper Sophie Saunders. Ella Miljevich fired high on a drop pass in the 60th minute. Kiley Pooch was just wide right in the 73rd minute and Manske couldn’t get to the far post in time for a redirect chance. Pooch tugged Rhinelander’s last best look wide left from the top of the 18 in the 74th minute. 

Waupaca outshot Rhinelander 22-17 in the match and had an 11-6 edge in shots on goal. The Comets seemed to have the better of play for long periods in the match, using physicality in the midfield to win battles for 50/50 balls.

“We were concerned with the midfield right away because they’re very physical in the middle of the field,” Bates said. “No. 23 (Kneer) is she’s a stud player. She’s great. and I knew that coming into the game. So we tried our best to prepare for it. And we did all right with it, but at the end of the day, I mean, they came away with the win tonight, and it wasn’t our night.”

Regional semifinals

    Rhinelander’s Gabby Wanta scores a goal in the second half of a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal game against Mosinee at Mike Webster Stadium Thursday, June 5. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Saturday night’s experience was far different than the Hodags’ tournament opener on Thursday as they cruised past Mosinee 8-0 in a game that ended via the goal rule at the hour mark.

Lamers and Lindsey Hoerchler each scored twice and the Hodags dominated that match, outshooting the eighth-seeded Indians 28-0.

“Girls came out right away. I mean, they were hungry,” Bates said. “We knew it the minute they got to the field tonight that they wanted to come out and win and make a statement. So they definitely made some pretty quick work of Mosinee tonight.”

Senior Leah Weigel put the Hodags on the board right away in the second minute and Rhinelander continued to build from there. Lamers made it 2-0 in the ninth minute and the Hodags benefitted from a Mosinee own goal in the 24th. Ella Miljevich finished off a Manske service in the 33rd minute to give the Hodags a 4-0 halftime leader.

Hoerchler scored back-to-back unassisted goals in the 47th and 53rd minutes, Lamers added her second in the 56th minute and Gabby Wanta brought the Hodags to the goal-rule threshold in the 60th minute scoring on a rebound.

Bates said Mosinee once again came into the game with a decidedly defensive-minded formation, but the Hodags were better equipped to attack it than they were in a 3-0 win at Mosinee last month.

“They still packed it in on us,” he said. “They only had one attacker up top again. We pulled one defender out, so we stuck another person up into the midfield to try to continue to keep more pressure down there and get a lot more shots. And by doing that, we definitely did. The girls did a really nice job at moving the ball around very well and drawing their players out of the box, which was creating us opportunities and for shooting and also for through balls.”

Wrapping up

The Hodags ended the season with a 13-6-0 record and a share of the Great Northern Conference title. It was a bittersweet ending for Bates and the three seniors who finished the season on the roster — Sophie Miljevich, Mia Tulowitzky and Weigel.

“You know, I’m very, very close with all three of them,” Bates said. “It’s going to be sad to see them leave the team, and I thank them for everything they did for us, as a program, and for all their hard work and leadership that they brought to our team. So I’m excited to see what the future holds for all of them, and I’m going to be really sad to see them go.”

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Bates said there is plenty of reason for optimism moving forward — especially considering Rhinelander’s starting 11 on Saturday featured eight sophomores and a freshman. 

“If anybody thinks next year that we’re not going to come back out and be able to put together a heck of a program, they’re going to be mistaken, because we have a lot of talent in a really, really young group of girls that are very hungry and eager,” he said. “I’m really excited to see what they do in the next couple of years.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].