Foiled again by Lakeland

Lakeland continues to be a thorn in the side of the Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team.

A Karsyn Dyre penalty kick in the 51st minute proved to be the difference as Lakeland downed Rhinelander 1-0 Thursday, April 16 in a battle of last year’s GNC co-champions at Mike Webster Stadium.

Rhinelander would have had the GNC title all to itself last year, if not for a 2-0 loss to Lakeland at home in the final regular season game of the year. That’s been a common thread of late as the Hodags have been unable to beat the Thunderbirds at home since 2022, when they outlasted Lakeland 1-0. 

Thursday’s game was the latest in the closely-contested series between the two intra-county rivals. Seven of the last eight matchups having been decided by one goal or a penalty kick shootout. 

The dagger this time came when the Hodags were called for a foul inside their own penalty area. Dyre was able sail the penalty kick over Rhinelander goalie Rylee Mickevicius to give Lakeland the 1-0 advantage. 

“We got a foul in the box, which, you know, cost us a goal, but, I mean, it’s part of the game, and there’s nothing we can do,” Hodag coach Nathan Bates said. “We just got to keep moving forward, and we got a lot of season left ahead of us. But I have nothing negative to say, you know, on changes on what the girls could have done different tonight because they played their hearts out, and we controlled that whole game, and one mishap happened, and, you know, that’s the way it went.”

Rhinelander outshot Lakeland 21-4 in the contest — and Dyre’s penalty kick was one of only two shots the T-Birds put on frame the entire match.

Rhinelander had seven shots on goal, including a few that had Hodag fans holding their breath when crunch time came around. 

    Rhinelander’s Gabby Wanta dribbles around Lakeland’s Annalyse Mayer during the first half of a GNC girls’ soccer game at Mike Webster Stadium Thursday, April 16. (Blake Richard/River News)
  

In the second half, Ella Miljevich nearly tied the game in the 53rd minute after a pass from Vivian Lamers. Miljevich had a shot ricochet of Lakeland’s Kasey Wise and out of play. Gabby Wanta had the Hodag hopeful on their feet with a breakaway through the T-Bird defense in the 58th minute, but was unable to convert with her fellow attackers.  

Lakeland followed suit with other Rhinelander opponents this spring and double-teamed Miljevich in the middle for most of the game. 

“(Teams) have been trying to key up on her, and she’s handled herself just fine, and, you know, continued to make plenty of opportunities happen during the games with them doing it,” Bates said. “She knows what to do. She’s a great player, and she’s been playing a very long time, and she knows how to handle it.” 

The Hodags had a few late second-half advances that came up short in finding the back of the net, allowing Lakeland goalkeeper Ava Evenhouse to remain unbeaten during the regular season against Rhinelander. 

The Hodags can still win a share of the GNC title without any help from Lakeland, assuming they run the table with regulation victories in league games. Bates said his side needs to shrug off its latest setback against the T-Birds.

“You just got to forget about it,” he said. “It’s one game. We got a lot of games left, and the girls are going to continue to go out and grind out other games and we’ll continue to play. There’s nothing we can do. It’s over with.”

The rematch with Lakeland is set for Tuesday, May 12 at IncredibleBank Field in Minocqua. 

The Hodags look to get back on track as they travel to Merrill tonight. Rhinelander will then host Antigo this coming Thursday at Mike Webster Stadium.

Blake Richard may be reached via email at [email protected].