ALL-GNC GIRLS SOCCER - Raiders earn some top honors in All-GNC vote

ALL-GNC GIRLS SOCCER

Defense was the strength of this spring’s Medford Raiders and that was evidenced with two first-team selections on the 2024 All-Great Northern Conference girls soccer team.

But the top award for a Raider in the voting process went to Sierra Tessmann, who was named the GNC’s co-Offensive Player of the Year.

Goal keeper Sophia Brunner and defender Talyn Peterson joined Tessmann in giving the Raiders a program-record three first-team All-GNC picks. With three more honorable mention choices, the Raiders tied last year’s record of six players earning some kind of All-GNC award.

Additionally, fourth-year head coach Tanya Tessmann shared GNC Coach of the Year honors with Stephanie Hartzheim of conference-champion Lakeland. Tessmann won the award last year as well.

The awards follow a season where Medford finished in fourth place in the GNC with a 3-5-2 record and 13 points. The Raiders were 7-8-4 overall, a solid improvement from their 6-14 mark from a year ago.

Medford was 2-1-2 through one round of GNC play this spring and in a position where it could still contend for the league title with a strong second round. But a late-season scoring drought knocked them down a notch from their 5-5 thirdplace finish of a year ago.

Sierra Tessmann shared the offensive award with Rhinelander’s Sophie Miljevich, who had, by far, the gaudier scoring numbers in GNC play with 16 goals and 13 assists for 39 points. But Tessmann’s ability to control the ball, dribble through traffic, pass and her strong shooting leg still gained the respect of the league’s coaches, who made her a unanimous first-team pick for the second straight season.

Tessmann scored eight goals in GNC play and 13 overall for Medford this season and added two non-conference assists. She had five of her GNC goals in the league finale at Antigo on May 21, an 8-0 Medford win. She scored twice in Medford’s 11-0 home win over Antigo on April 30 and scored one in a 4-1 win at Mosinee on April 23.

Tessmann scored Medford’s only goal in its 1-1 WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal tie with Waupaca, which the Comets ultimately won in a penalty-kick shootout. She had two goals and two assists in Medford’s 7-0 win over Crandon on April 4 and had both goals in a key early-season 2-0 win over Amherst/Iola- Scandinavia on April 9.

Brunner was voted to the first-team goalie spot for the second straight spring, while Peterson moved up a level after landing on last year’s second team. They, as well as honorable mentionee Masaeda Krug, a middle anchor on Medford’s back defensive line, were three of the key team members that led Medford to an outstanding defensive season. You could add junior midfielder Megan Schaefer, who also got honorable mention, to that list. Peterson and Schaefer are similar players with strong legs and scoring capabilities and they possess a willingness to mix it up in any loose-ball battle. They certainly had roles in stopping teams from making any offensive progress, while helping keep the ball on Medford’s offensive end.

Schaefer, who got All-GNC honorable mention last year, scored three goals and had three assists this season. Two of the assists came in GNC play and she scored a GNC goal in the 4-1 win at Mosinee. Schaefer scored in non-conference wins over Crandon and Shawano.

Peterson scored her lone goal of the season in the win over Mosinee.

The Raiders allowed a program-record 0.7 goals per game overall and in GNC play as well. The Raiders allowed seven goals in GNC play and 13 overall in 19 games. That was considerably better than a year ago when Medford’s defense improved by nearly two goals per game over 2022 in GNC play by allowing 18. Last year’s team allowed 59 goals overall in 20 games.

Brunner started the year with an outstanding game in a 0-0 non-conference tie with sectional champion Rice Lake. She had more than 20 saves in that matchup. She had 27 saves against sectional runner-up Ashland in a 3-0 loss on May 23. Brunner and the Raiders’ defense finished the year with eight shutouts, including four in conference play. Medford won key GNC shootouts with Northland Pines and Rhinelander on April 16 and 18 after 0-0 ties.

Brunner’s overall save percentage was over .900 and her GNC percentage was .875 with 49 saves on 56 shots faced.

Medford did not allow multiple goals in any game until a 2-0 loss at Lakeland on May 16. Ashland was the only other team to score multiple goals on the Raiders.

Defense was the name of the game throughout the conference this spring. Take away the 10 games and 85 goals that involved last-place Antigo and there were just 52 goals scored in 20 contests, an average of 2.6 per game.

Senior Madison Clarkson was another scrapper for Medford in the midfield area and got honorable mention for the second straight season. She wound up with two goals for the season, both in conference play. She got one in each win over Antigo and had an assist to Alexis Szydel in Medford’s 2-0 non-conference win over Waupaca on May 2.

Tessmann, Brunner and Peterson join a 12-member first team that includes unanimous pick and Defensive Player of the Year Emma Chiamulera. Miljevich was a unanimous choice, along with Mosinee’s Kaitlyn Selle and Zoe Anderson and Sarah Nagel of Northland Pines. Lakeland’s trio of Josie Wentland, Bobbi Lee and Landry Lenz round out the first team.

Seven of the first-teamers are seniors. The other five are juniors.

Along with winning the conference, Lakeland made the farthest post-season run of any GNC team, reaching the WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal round. The T-Birds, 9-0-1 in the GNC and 14-4-2 overall, lost that semifinal to top-seeded Ashland 3-0.

Tanya Tessmann Co-Coach of Year

Sophia Brunner First Team

Talyn Peterson First Team

Masaeda Krug Hon. Mention

Madison Clarkson Hon. Mention

Megan Schaefer Hon. Mention