Medford well-represented in All-GNC soccer selection process

ALL-GNC BOYS SOCCER

There are familiar Medford names and some new ones included as well on the 2021 All-Great Northern Conference boys soccer teams.

In all, seven Raiders earned some kind of recognition following one of the most competitive seasons in the 14-year history of the Great Northern Conference. The 2021 was a season where it felt like anyone could beat anyone and, with the exception of an improved Antigo team that still went winless in league play, that’s how it sometimes played out.

Medford junior Zach Rudolph is one of seven unanimous picks to this year’s 11-man first team, while senior Quinton Tlusty also took a huge jump to first-team status as a first-time All-GNC award winner.

Two more first-time choices –– senior Sam Blair and junior Silas Wipf –– landed on the All-GNC second team, while seniors Gage Neubauer and Kale Klussendorf and junior Aaron Schield earned honorable mention in this year’s vote.

The awards follow an up-and-down season for the Raiders. The down side happened early in an unexpected scoring drought that put Medford in an 0-3 hole to start league play, but the team played its best soccer late to finish 8-8-2 overall and 5-5 in the GNC. The Raiders dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to conference champion Lakeland in a WIAA Division 3 regional final on Oct. 23.

Rudolph’s selection was no surprise after he scored eight goals and added five assists in 10 league games. His scoring and ball handling abilities were assets the Raiders used in all areas of the field. His 21 points ranked third in the conference behind Mosinee’s Toren Holtz (42 points with 18 goals) and Lakeland’s Yaroslav Myshchyshyn (30 points with 14 goals), who wound up being named the GNC’s 2021 Offensive Player of the Year.

Overall, Rudolph had 11 goals on the season and he had multiple goals in four contests, three of which came against GNC rivals. He scored twice in a 3-1 win at Northland Pines on Sept. 16 and had both goals in a big 2-0 win at Rhinelander on Sept. 23. He scored twice in an 8-2 win at Antigo on Oct. 7 and twice in an 8-1 non-conference win over Merrill on Oct. 11. He had a goal and two assists in a 6-1 home win over Antigo on Sept. 14.

Tlusty went on a second-half surge that put him on the first team. Medford’s speedy wing tied for fourth in the confer- ence with six goals scored in league play and his 16 points ranked fourth. He had four GNC assists. Overall, Tlusty finished with a team-high 13 goals.

Season highlights that helped him earn his spot on the All-GNC team included a three-goal game at Antigo, a two-goal game in the home win over Antigo and a goal and an assist in the second half of a 4-2 win over Northland Pines on Oct. 14. He had two goals in a 7-1 non-conference win over New London on Aug. 28, a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win at Appleton Xavier on Aug. 26 and his penalty kick against Rhinelander tied the game at 1-1 and sent the Oct. 21 WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal into a shootout, which the Raiders eventually won 5-4.

Myshchyshyn, Holtz, DJ Ratajczyk of Lakeland, Owen Uebe of Northland Pines and Beau Howard and goal keeper Gavin Ostermann of Rhinelander were the other unanimous picks in the voting. Bo Peterson of Lakeland, Cole Holtz of Mosinee and Ryan Muench of Northland Pines filled out the first team. Ostermann was named the GNC’s Defensive Player of the Year after ranking fourth in save percentage (.785) and goals against average (1.7) among GNC goal keepers.

Blair did not score a point, but he took over for last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, Ty Baker, as the leader of Medford’s defensive crew. The Raiders allowed 1.6 goals per game in both league play and overall. The GNC figure ranked third behind Lakeland (0.8) and Mosinee (1.3), who not surprisingly, finished onetwo in the standings.

Wipf wasn’t a big scorer either, with one goal and one assist in GNC play. But he was another of Medford’s stellar crew of midfielders that allowed the Raiders to outpossess most opponents and his passing often started strong offensive attacks by his teammates.

Schield, who earned honorable mention for the second straight fall, was certainly a key piece to Medford’s midfield puzzle. His aggression and energy was sorely missed when he was out for a couple of weeks early in the season with a broken bone in his arm. The Raiders broke out of their early slump when he returned in the 6-1 win over Antigo Sept. 14.

Schield had three assists in league play, including two in that win over Antigo.

Neubauer was a second-team pick the past two years and Klussendorf was in 2020 but settled for honorable mention this season.

Neubauer was one of the players Medford counted on to finish at the net when he had opportunities and he wound up with five GNC goals as well as an assist. He recorded 11 goals overall to finish with 36 for his career. He scored two goals in the home win over Antigo and added GNC scores in a 3-1 loss at Mosinee, the road win at Antigo and the 4-2 win over Pines. He had a hat trick in the win over Merrill, a goal and an assist at Xavier and he scored Medford’s goal in the regional final loss at Lakeland.

Klussendorf, one of the team’s 2021 captains, brought a physical presence from his wing position and was another of Medford’s scoring threats. He finished with one goal in GNC play, which came in the home win over Antigo, and four goals overall. The other three came in his hat trick in the Aug. 28 win over New London.

Lakeland won its first GNC title since 2014 with an 8-1-1 record. The T-Birds held off 8-2 Mosinee by half a game, while Medford and Rhinelander (4-4-2) tied for third with 15 points apiece.

Lakeland, Mosinee and Northland Pines all won WIAA regional championships. Mosinee knocked off top-seeded Lakeland 2-1 in a sectional semifinal before losing 4-0 in the Division 3 sectional final to host Rice Lake. Northland Pines lost 3-0 to top-seeded Washburn-Bayfield in a Division 4 sectional semifinal after winning its regional as a three-seed.

Though he didn’t win any awards, Medford junior goal keeper Jake Dassow had the highest save percentage in the GNC at .851 (63 saves in 74 shots) and ranked third in goals against average (1.57).

Quinton Tlusty First Team

Sam Blair Second Team

Silas Wipf Second Team

Gage Neubauer Hon. Mention

Kale Klussendorf Hon. Mention

Aaron Schield Hon. Mention