RICE LAKE 5, MEDFORD 0 - Fast start propels Rice Lake past Medford in non-conference soccer opener

Cale Ash had a hat trick, including two early breakaway goals, to lead the Rice Lake Warriors to a 5-0 over Medford Tuesday in the boys soccer season opener held at Raider Field.

Despite playing a little more than half the game down a man due to a red card, the Warriors held Medford to one shot, taken by Ethan Emmerich, while getting off 24 shots of their own, which resulted in 16 saves made by Medford sophomore Eric Paul, who was making his first varsity start in goal.

“I thought that we looked rusty,” Medford head coach Adam Derr said. “Their first two goals were breakaways. Somebody hit the ball over the top and they’re fast. That’s tough. It happens. We have to pass the ball better and do the things that we do in practice. It’s the technical stuff.”

Ash got his first goal off a long pass along the right side from Nathan Medera. He crossed his shot comfortably inside the far post 10:06 into the game. His second goal, which came at 13:08, came off a clearing pass from Rice Lake defenseman Pepe Carrillo Graniel that hit Ash in stride nearly 40 yards downfield. Ash sprinted past Medford’s defense. Paul got a piece of Ash’s shot but it still found its way into the net.

Rice Lake’s Ben Jevne deflected a ball off his chest and into the goal off an Andy Acevedo Sanchez corner kick at 29:13. Ash completed his hat trick at the 36:40 mark of the first half. He stole a Medford pass and took a hard shot from the right side that deflected off Paul’s leg and got inside the near post.

The game could’ve shifted late in the first half. At 38:01, Lucas Mahner got a long through ball to freshman wing Carter Ziehlke for a potential one-on-one with Rice Lake goal keeper Mason Brooten. Brooten aggressively came out of his box and collided hard with Ziehlke, resulting in a red card and a disqualification.

“(Brooten) didn’t mean it,” Derr said, adding that he thought Ziehlke’s play in his first varsity game was one of the highlights of the night for Medford. “He came out, made a play on the ball and just missed it. Carter made a nice move. It happens.”

While Rice Lake had to play with its number-two goalie and a man short on the field the rest of the way, the Raiders weren’t able to dent the scoreboard. They thought they did at the 52-minute mark, but Nathan Schuld’s goal was nullified as the Raiders were ruled to be offsides.

Also in the second half, Rice Lake’s Hunter Boehme closed the scoring at 59:05, lofting a shot from 25 yards out that carried over Paul’s reach and under the crossbar.

“I told Eric 99 times out of 100 that shot either hits the crossbar, goes over the goal or he tips it over,” Derr said. “That was just a crazy shot.”

Medford gets another tough nonconference test tonight, Thursday, when it visits New London. The varsity game starts at 6:30 p.m. following the 4:30 p.m. JV game.

Great Northern Conference play starts Tuesday when Medford hosts Merrill at 7 p.m. Northland Pines is in town two nights later.