Hodag soccer pushes past Merrill in GNC opener

The Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team began its Great Northern Conference title defense Tuesday night by knocking off the conference’s newest member.

Vivian Lamers scored three times, Ella Miljevich added two goals and two assists and the Hodags downed the Merrill Bluejays 6-0 at Mike Webster Stadium.

It took a while for the Hodags (2-0-0, 1-0-0-0 Great Northern) to find their footing, but a pair of goals after the 20-minute mark staked Rhinelander to the lead. The Hodags tacked on four more in the second half, including two strikes in the final four minutes of regulation, to spoil Merrill’s return to the GNC. The Bluejays (0-1-0, 0-1-0-0 Great Northern) played in the conference in 2009 and 2010 before returning to the Wisconsin Valley.

“It took a little longer to get some in the back of the net. I thought, in the beginning of the game … we had some really good opportunities right off the gate, and once we started getting them in, though, I mean we were clicking,” coach Nathan Bates said. “Their goalies had some good saves. We had some lot of shots, but we also had some, you know, far, off the post, et cetera, things like that, but I’m not disappointed in how the girls played tonight. 

    Rhinelander’s Ella Miljevich (1) shields Merrill’s Annabelle Lee from the ball during the first half of a GNC girls’ soccer game at Mike Webster Stadium Tuesday, April 7. Miljevich scored twice and had two assists in the Hodags’ 6-0 win. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Lamers and Miljevich, the team’s two top returning scores from last year, set each other up for goals that put the Hodags on the board in the first half. A through ball by Lamers sprung Miljevich for a breakaway finish in the 23rd minute. The two reversed roles in the 30th minute as a give-and-go gave Lamers an unabated rush to the net.

“They’ve been working really well the last three games,” Bates said, counting the two regular seasons contests and a scrimmage against Three Lakes. “When they’re connecting really, really well together, they do a great job.”

Lamers tallied her second goal of the night in the 47th minute, creating space off a Kiley Pooch pass and firing a shot home from the top of the 18-yard box. Junior Gabby Wanta, featuring in the attack this spring, scored her first goal in the 64th minute as she outflanked the Merrill defense on the right off a Miljevich pass and finished the breakaway chance.

“Gabby on the outside, also is doing a really fantastic job,” Bates noted. “Our midfield, our defense, everybody all around, I feel like we’re pretty solid and we got the puzzle pieces put together pretty well with where everyone’s playing, and they’re all connecting pretty good.”

Miljevich scored her second goal of the night in 77th minute, putting home a rebound after a save on a hard shot by Pooch. Lamers rounded out the scoring with 31 second remaining, converting a penalty kick after she was tripped from behind in the box by Merrill’s Kayla Vickery. Vickery received a yellow card for the transgression, capping a night of physical play from the Bluejays despite being called with only four fouls during the match.

“Merrill came out to play, actually. They played a pretty physical game, and I’m proud with how my girls responded, and never got really chippy on either side. They played physical, and we just kept playing with them,” Bates said.

The Hodags outshot Merrill 45-3 in the match. Junior goalkeeper Rylee Mickevicius dodged a couple of hairy moments to record her second shutout of the year in a two-save effort. Merrill’s Annabelle Lee had a open look from the top of the 18 that caromed off the inside of the left post and skidded along the goal line, but never crossed it. Alexis Lonsdorf had a look to the near post in the 53rd minute that Mickevicius stepped in front of and saved. 

Merrill used a staggering four goalkeepers in the match, following a bit of misfortune. Starting keeper Alexa Staskiewicz recorded 10 saves, but left the game in the 35th minute after appearing to take the ball to the head in a diving effort to stop a rebound chance by Miljevich. 

Position player Elliana Gruett filled in until the 60th minute, when she landed awkwardly after going up to clear a corner kick and went off with an apparent lower leg injury. Another position player, Hailey Cole, briefly stepped between the woodwork before handing off to one of the team’s junior varsity goalkeepers, who was not listed on the varsity roster. 

“That was an absolute first for me,” Bates said when asked if he’s ever seen a team use that many keepers in a contest. “Every goalie they put in tonight actually was making some stops, which is unusual. Usually it’s like you get to your second one, yeah, they’re going to be a goalie. Get to your third one, fourth one, it’s like, ‘Hey, who’s an agile kid?’ But they were all making stops.”

The Hodags took on Northland Pines Thursday night in a game that concluded after press time for today’s edition. Visit RiverNewsOnline.com for a recap of that contest and read a full report in Tuesday’s River News. That game was moved from Eagle River to Rhinelander due to field conditions and the Hodags will now play at Pines Tuesday, May 5.

The Hodags will be back in action Thursday, April 16 when they host Lakeland at Mike Webster Stadium in the battle of last year’s GNC co-champions.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].