Handful of Raiders honored for their play on the soccer field
ALL-GNC GIRLS SOCCER
Four members of Medford’s senior core and an emerging sophomore were honored for their play this spring in the voting for the 2022 All-Great Northern Conference girls soccer teams.
First-team awards were hard to get as Lakeland and Rhinelander, who separated themselves from the rest of the pack as the clearly superior teams in the six-team conference this season, claimed eight of the 11 spots, but the departure of Ashland to the Heart O’ North Conference opened up chances for more girls from the other teams to gain recognition on the secondteam and honorable mention lists.
Medford did just that as seniors Gabby Brunner, Caitlin Doyle and Lydia Pernsteiner earned spots on the 11-member second team, while senior Kelsey Jascor and sophomore Sierra Tessmann were among the 14 players to get honorable mention. The Raiders had just two players earn All-GNC awards in 2021.
This year’s honors follow a season where Medford went 3-7 to place fifth in the conference standings under secondyear head coach Tanya Tessmann. The Raiders were 4-14-2 overall and, for the second straight spring, finished the year by tying third-seeded Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia in a WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal but falling short in the penalty-kick shootout. The teams were tied 4-4 after 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime play.
Pernsteiner and Tessmann were Medford’s leading scorers this season, while Brunner was a solid passer and added a couple of goals from a wing position on the offensive end of the team’s offensive formation.
In GNC play, Pernsteiner scored six goals, while Tessmann had four goals and two assists. With 12 and 10 points respectively, they placed ninth and 10th in the GNC’s scoring rankings for the spring.
Pernsteiner had a hat trick with three goals in Medford’s 4-1 win at Antigo on May 23, scored twice against the Red Robins in a 4-1 home win on April 28 and was one of the team’s three goal scorers in a 3-0 win at Mosinee on April 21, connecting on a direct kick. Overall, she scored eight goals, adding two in the playoff tie with Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia.
Tessmann, who grew into the leader of Medford’s midfield group this spring with her aggressiveness as well as her passing and shooting ability, scored twice in the home win over Antigo and scored once in each game against Mosinee, perfectly placing high shots over the goalie and under the crossbar. Medford lost its home matchup with the Indians 2-1 on May 12.
Tessmann scored six goals overall, adding one in a 3-0 win over Altoona-Fall Creek in the May 26 regular-season finale and another in overtime of the playoff tie.
Brunner scored the first goal in the 3-0 win at Mosinee and also sent a kick toward the goalie box that resulted in a Pernsteiner goal in the home win over Antigo. She scored on a penalty kick at Amherst and assisted on an Alexis Szydel goal against Altoona-Fall Creek and on one of Pernsteiner’s goals against Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia.
Doyle and Jascor were the senior leaders on Medford’s defensive line in front of sophomore goalie Sophia Brunner. Doyle is a four-year letter winner. Jascor joined the team last year, but quickly ascended into a starting defensive role. The Raiders were an improved defensive team in 2022, allowing 3.3 goals per game overall, down slightly from last year’s mark of 3.6. The Raiders allowed 3.7 goals per game in 10 GNC games.
Lakeland won the GNC title by one point over Rhinelander, 27-26. The TBirds rebounded from an early-season 1-0 loss to the Hodags by winning out the rest of the way to finish 9-1, including a 6-1 rout of Rhinelander on May 19. The Hodags finished 8-1-1 with a May 17 1-1 tie against Northland Pines knocking them out of a potential title tie.
The Thunderbirds won the WIAA Division 3 sectional championship by winning shootouts with Ashland in the semifinal and Rice Lake in the final and ended their season Friday with a 4-0 loss to eventual state champion New Berlin Eisenhower at the WIAA state championships in Milwaukee.
Lakeland placed five players, three of them unanimously on the All-GNC first team. Senior Sophia Myshchyshyn was named the GNC Offensive Player of the Year after recording 17 goals and 11 assists for 45 points in league play. Senior Leah Wolfe was a unanimous pick after scoring 17 goals and adding four assists for 38 points and senior goalie Naomi Hamerla was the unanimous choice at goalie allowing just two goals in 10 GNC starts. Senior Olivia Melke and junior Callie Ullius were Lakeland’s other firstteam picks.
Rhinelander’s unanimous picks were seniors Audrey Schiek and McKenna Brown and junior Ava Lamers. Schiek was named the GNC Defensive Player of the Year, while Lamers actually was the conference’s leading scorer with 20 goals and 14 assists for 54 points. The Hodags finished 14-6-1 overall.
Northland Pines senior Maleea Eggleston and Mosinee sophomore Kaitlyn Selle rounded out the first team. Rodney Sternhagen of Northland Pines was named the 2022 GNC Coach of the Year. The Eagles went 4-4-2 in league play, 11-9-2 overall and reached the WIAA Division 4 sectional final, falling to Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.
