Team preview: RHS girls’ soccer

The Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team has not been to a sectional final since coach Dan Millot’s last game with the program back in 2018.

The Hodags have had some talented teams since then, but have never quite been able to put it all together for a deep playoff run. That included last season when the Hodags earned a share of their first Great Northern Conference title since 2018, but lost a late-season game against Lakeland that would have made it an undisputed conference championship and then lost as the No. 1 seed in the regional finals to fourth-seeded Waupaca. 

Though Rhinelander graduates three all-conference players from that squad, and has no seniors on the varsity roster, coach Nathan Bates still said he exudes confidence that this could be the year the Hodags finally put everything together.

“We return a lot of experience this year and a lot of our firepower from last year. My anticipation for the year again is what I always tell you. We’re out to win all of it,” Bates said. “And I do think that this group of ladies can go out there and do that. They can accomplish it.” 

The Hodags certainly return plenty of firepower, despite graduating first-team all-conference selection Sophie Miljevich — the team’s No. 2 scorer — from last year’s squad.

GNC co-offensive player of the year Vivian Lamers leads the attack. The junior led the Hodags in scoring with 26 goals and five assists a season ago. Fellow junior and all-conference first teamer, Ella Miljevich, returns and was third on the team in scoring a season ago with 11 goals and 13 assists. 

Junior Kiley Pooch returns after totaling 17 points a season ago and sophomore Jordan Manske had 10 points last year. Additionally, the Hodags are looking for junior Gabby Wanta to have a more prominent role in the attack after seeing some time on defense last year. 

Aside from graduating Sophie Miljevich and fellow all-conference recipient Leah Weigel, the Hodag attack suffered another setback in January when junior Lindsey Hoerchler sustained a knee injury that is expected cost her the entire 2026 season. She was fourth on the team with 24 points last year. 

“Lindsey’s a big hit to us going into the season. It’s very unfortunate because, not even just as a player, Lindsey’s just an amazing young lady and love her dearly,” Bates said. “That hurts the team. She brought a lot more to the game. She’s always fun, always bubbly, always has a positive attitude, and she worked her butt off on the field. So yeah, it’s a big hit losing Lindsey.”

On the other end of the field, junior Rylee Mickevicius is back for her second season as the Hodags’ starting goalkeeper. She went 12-5-0 last year with a .741 save percentage and a 0.89 goals against average. She recorded nine shutouts a season ago.

“Rylee’s been putting in some time in the offseason as well. So I think she’ll do really well this season,” Bates said.

    Rhinelander’s June Chiamulera clears the ball away from a Three Lakes attacker during a girls’ soccer scrimmage at Mike Webster Stadium Monday, March 30. Chiamulera is one of three returning all-conference selections for the Hodag defense, joining fellow juniors Becca Brost and Hayley Schiek. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hodags return most of the defensive unit that kept the heat off Mickevicius last season, though it did graduate GNC co-defensive player of the year Mia Tulowitzky. Juniors June Chiamulera, Hayley Schiek and Becca Brost are expected to anchor the back line after earning all-conference honors last year. Bates said junior Mollie Arneson will factor in the mix on defense. 

“We have a lot of really, really, really strong defensive players on our team,” Bates said. “That’s why our team, over the last how many years has walked away with numerous first (team) conference awards and defensive players of the year, et cetera. I’ve emphasized defense. Defense wins games, and we always try to stack our back line with a lot of our firepower is what we have because if we don’t have a back line, what good are you if you can’t keep the ball down out of that side of the field and you can’t get it up the field?” 

Other players back from last year’s varsity squad include juniors Ella Heck and Addison Bates. The team also welcomes a group of 10 freshmen who will be vying for time between the varsity and JV squads. 

The Hodags were scheduled to get a test right out of the gate Thursday as they hosted Ashland in the season opener, however that game was postponed due to inclement weather. The Oredockers, a perennial power that knocked the Hodags out in the sectional semifinals two years ago, defeated Rhinelander 2-0 in non-conference play last season. 

Rhinelander will travel to Green Bay tonight to play Wrightstown and Waterford in a triangular. That’s part of a strong non-conference schedule for the team. 

“We put some really good competition on the girls this year on our non-conference games,” Bates said. “We play some top teams in the state — Catholic Memorial, et cetera. We play (Stevens) Point again this year, Waterford, Marinette. We have some pretty good non-conference games to try to get the girls to that point of where they need to be.”

Rhinelander, in theory, should be the team to beat in the GNC this year — especially considering that Lakeland graduated six all-conference selections, including three unanimous first-teamers. The T-Birds, however, do return senior goalkeeper Ava Evenhouse, who the Hodags have had difficulty scoring on the past two seasons. The teams will meet Thursday, April 16 in Rhinelander with the rematch set for Tuesday, May 12 in Minocqua. 

Bates said Northland Pines, which returns three second-team all-conference selections, could play the role of spoiler in the conference this year. However, as always, Bates said his confidence in his team is unwavering. 

“If I’m going to bet, I’m going to bet on my girls all day long and I hope to take it past conference and continue through the regionals and sectionals and see if we can get them to state,” he said. 

If the Hodags win the conference title, it stands to reason they should have a path to make a deep run in the WIAA tournament. Waupaca, which ended up winning the half sectional last year, has been moved east in to the Green Bay Notre Dame sectional. Hodags eight-team half-sectional grouping includes six of the seven GNC teams, along with Ashland and Hayward.

The sectional final is set for June 13 in Rice Lake, the site where Bates punched a ticket to the state tournament with the Rhinelander boys’ team back in 2022. He thinks, if things fall into place, similar fortunes could be in the cards for the Hodag girls this season.

“If they continue to show up to practice and give 100% of all the practices, and they keep grinding it out throughout the season, no matter what’s going on, I think they have a very good chance of making it there this year,” he said. 

Scrimmage

The Hodags had a dress rehearsal Monday as they scrimmaged Three Lakes at Mike Webster Stadium. The offense appeared to be in midseason form as it piled up 11 goals in an 80-minute session that simulated game conditions with the exception of unlimited substitution opportunities. 

According to notes kept by the River News — teams are not allowed to keep score during a scrimmage — Lamers scored four times during the scrimmage and had a pair of assists. Miljevich scored three times and had an assist, and Heck chipped in a pair of goals. Manske and Brost also scored for the Hodags.

“We definitely are on point offensively with the way that the girls are clicking together and playing together as a team,” Bates said. “(We had) a lot of really good passing game going on up there, a lot of good give and goes, a lot of firepower, so they did very well, in my opinion, and I’m very happy with how they did tonight.” 

It was a quiet night for Mickevicius in net, though the Hodags did concede a goal in the 11th minute as a Three Lakes player got free at the top left corner of the 18-yard box and fired to the top right corner of the goal. Mickevicius stopped a breakaway chance in the 38th minute and made a save in the 39th but, otherwise, did not see much action come her way. 

“Our defense had one little hiccup there early on. Mollie took one to the face, which, obviously, spiraled from there, but it happens. But all in all, I will tell you that our defense looked like they were on point in June back there, Becca, Mollie, Hayley, they all did a really, really good job,” Bates said.

Freshman Kenzie Paulson started for the Hodags and saw time at both midfield and defense. The Hodags turned it over to their underclassmen later in each half and while they were unable to score, Bates said there were plenty of positives.

“There’s a lot of good potential on the younger side of things when it comes to our JV squad this year,” he said. “I mean, we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, but the future looks really bright if the girls continue to play and build off what they have right now. I think our JV squad’s gonna do a great job this year. So I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.” 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].