MEDFORD GIRLS SOCCER - Goals come in bunches during second half of 8-0 victory
MEDFORD GIRLS SOCCER
It’s fair to say the Medford girls soccer team had been in a bit of a scoring drought with just four goals in its last six games.
After an eight-goal barrage Tuesday, the Raiders hope they’ve started to make it rain.
Playing at home for just the second time this season, the Raiders dominated possession of the soccer ball in the last 30 minutes of the first half and had only one goal to show for it. But when Bayley Metz scored just 55 seconds into the second half, the floodgates opened and the Raiders eventually ended the game at 8-0 via the mercy rule at 72:29.
By doing so, the Raiders ended a sixgame winless streak and improved to 1-2 in Great Northern Conference play and 25-1 overall.
“We started out slow and then we were picking it up as the first half ended,” Medford head coach Tanya Tessmann said. “In the second half when we came out and got the goal at 40:55 that really sparked us a little bit more.”
“I feel like we were very nervous to get the ball in the first half,” said senior Shayla Radlinger, who capped the scoring surge with two late goals. “We didn’t know what to do when we had the ball. In the second half, our nerves cooled off and we knew what to do.”
Radlinger, Metz and Caidyn Zenner all scored twice in the seven-goal second half. While Medford got off 27 shots and put 15 on goal, the winless Indians did not get any shots off and had only one corner kick while falling to 0-3, 0-5.
The first goal went to Mallory Richter. About a minute after the Raiders got nothing out of three straight corner kicks by Richter, at the 25:59 mark, she gained control of a short goal kick by Mosinee’s Merry Clairmore and put in a 16-yard right-to-left shot.
Metz’s goal to start the second half came after she picked off a clearing pass. She carried it along the left side, dribbled around a defender and fired a low shot that scooted right through Clairmore’s save attempt.
At 48:28, Richter controlled the ball on the right side and centered to Zenner, who left-footed a 24-yard shot that bounced past Clairmore. At 53:00, Zenner scored again, capping a flurry of shots in the box area and making it 4-0.
Zenner, a junior who is new to the varsity roster this season now has three goals on the year.
Metz’s second goal of the night and third of the year came at 67:25 as Kate Gierl popped the ball away from converging defenders directly to Metz’s left foot for a clear shot. Radlinger then got into the fun, punching in a 15-yard shot through two defenders. Another varsity newcomer this year, Layla Petersen, got her third goal of the spring at 71:57 off a long pass from Zenner.
“It was good. I just love watching them celebrate and get hyped for themselves,” Radlinger said. “I love it. It’s good for them to keep on shooting. A lot of the younger girls can be scared to shoot. We really want to encourage them to shoot.”
Radlinger ended the game at 72:29, taking a pass from Richter, taking one long touch before catching back up with the ball and booting it in off Clairmore’s foot.
“The first one wasn’t supposed to be a goal,” Radlinger said of her scores. “I was supposed to line the ball up so then I could shoot. But the defender got in on it a little bit, so then I just had to aim and see what happens and I was powerful enough to put one in. The second goal I got a wide open run with the ball from Mallory and I just took it and got a goal.”
“Obviously it was nice to have one of our captains, Talyn Peterson, back,” Tessmann said. “That definitely made a difference. She was helpful holding the middle and had good composure and passing. We were able to utilize our defense a little more up top to take advantage of the numbers since Mosinee wasn’t having anyone stay high.
“We saw some good passing in the first half,” she added. “Some calls didn’t go our way. We just kept playing and kept pressuring and it paid off. Kate Gierl and Caidyn Zenner were playing center-mid some. Kate had some great turns and touches. Caidyn scored a couple of goals.”
Tonight, Thursday, Medford heads to Lakeland, always a tough, defensiveminded team in the GNC. The game kicks off at 7 p.m.
“I think this is going to help a lot,” Radlinger said. “We know what we need to work on. We know that we can score and we can shoot. I feel like this is good going into Lakeland.”
From there, Medford is at Shawano for a 6:30 p.m. non-conference game. The Raiders end the first round of GNC play Tuesday at Antigo at 5 p.m.
Hodags 5, Raiders 0
Medford hung tough for a half Thursday despite being severely outshot, but the dam eventually broke in the second half with four goals securing Rhinelander’s 5-0 win.
Vivian Lamers scored three times and Ella Miljevich added two goals as Rhinelander held on to its early lead in the Great Northern Conference race. Outshot 20-2 in the first half, Medford only trailed 1-0 through 40 minutes, but the Hodags scored three goals in about a 12-minute span early in the second half.
Medford played without its two injured senior captains, Peterson and Megan Schaefer, forcing the team to employ a defensive-minded game plan.
Still, Rhinelander finished with 45 shots and Peyton Boelk finished with 20 saves.
“Peyton had a great game,” Tessmann said. “She had some great reaction times, especially with all of the hard, fast shots that came at her. When the other team has that many shots, the ball is down on your end a lot and there are more chances for fouls and handballs. Considering we were without our two captains, I was happy with how we held up for the most part.”
Lamers got her first goal off a Miljevich assist at 16:51. Before that, Boelk had notched a save on a close shot from Mia Tulowitsky in the seventh minute. The Raiders got a big non-goalie save a minute later and Boelk added two more saves.
Right after the goal, Medford got its best scoring chance but Kodi Rappe’s close shot when wide left.
“The girls connected well when going to clear the ball, better than our game earlier in the week (at Wausau East),” Tessmann said. “We saw that with all of our defensive players and including Amelia Pernsteiner.”
After the Lamers goal, Medford survived a penalty kick from Sophia Miljevich that hit the crossbar and a rebound shot from Lamers in the 23rd minute. Boelk made a fingertip save on a Lamers shot in the 25th minute. Boelk had three more saves in the last five minutes of the half. Of Rhinelander’s 20 shots in the half, 12 were on goal.
It didn’t take Lamers and the Hodags long to put it away after that. Lamers carried the ball up the left side and perfectly placed a 20-yard shot in the upper right corner at 43:47. She connected on a penalty kick at 48:43 to make it 3-0.
Ella Miljevich took a drop pass from Kiley Pooch and got a 20-yard shot inside the left post at 55:34 and Miljevich closed the scoring at 70:54, heading in Sophia Miljevich’s corner kick.
“Shayla Radlinger played at center-mid and held up well,” Tessmann said. “A lot of girls got a lot more playing time with both captains being out. Aubri Sperl went out in the 44th minutes but played well on defense the whole first half. We had girls going in playing different position which will end up giving them more experience, which will be good going into our next game.”
Medford’s Aubri Sperl tries to separate the ball from Rhinelander’s Lindsey Hoerchler during the first half of Thursday’s 5-0 loss to the GNC-leading Hodags. BOB MAINHARDT/NORTHWOODS RIVER NEWS
