GOT THE FIRST ONE IN KEY WEEK
Raiders snap 10-year skid against Pines, 1-0
Sierra Tessmann lofted a perfect free kick from 25 yards out early in the game and a strong defensive effort allowed that goal to stand as the game-winner in Medford’s 1-0 soccer win over Northland Pines Tuesday at Raider Field.
The win was big for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a key step toward Medford’s goal of finishing in the upper half of the six-team Great Northern Conference and secondly, it ended a long string of futility for the program against Pines, who had beaten the Raiders 14 straight times dating back to Medford’s last win over the Eagles, a 1-0 victory on May 9, 2013. Several of the last few losses, however, had been close, including 3-0 and 1-0 games last spring.
“It is a big one,” junior goalkeeper Sophia Brunner said. “They’re always close competition with us. It’s good to win finally.”
“Big win for us,” head coach Tanya Tessmann said. “We’re tight with Mosinee and Pines in the middle of the conference, so this is big and hopefully it’s good momentum for when Mosinee comes to visit Thursday.”
The win boosted Medford’s GNC record to 2-2 and they are 3-7 overall. The first round of league play concludes tonight, Thursday, when, as Tessmann mentioned, Mosinee comes to Raider Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff to make up an April 20 postponement. The Indians are 1-3 in league play after losing 4-0 to Rhinelander on Tuesday.
Tessmann’s goal at the 14:20 mark followed a handball call against the Eagles. Kicking right at the 15-yard line while facing the left post on the goal, Tessmann floated a beautiful shot that got well over the Eagles’ defensive wall and just over the fingertips of the goalkeeper and under the crossbar.
Other than that, the defenses held strong for both teams. The Eagles did have one hard shot that hit a post and had a couple more chances in the last 10 minutes that were denied.
“The defense played well as a team,” Brunner said. “I do my best trying to help them with positioning and everything. I was not too busy.”
“We were able to sub a little bit throughout the game trying to keep people fresh, which I think helped,” coach Tessmann said. “Our defensive mids, Maddie Clarkson and Megan Schaefer, they’ve really been clicking together, watching where each other are and covering one another. I love to hear the defense talking, calling for the ball and covering. When the middle goes out to the side and the outbacks are coming in to cover, that’s what you like to see.”
At 71:45, Brunner made a nice save moving to her right to snag a hard line drive kicked by Ryyn Darr.
“I just do what I can,” Brunner said. “I try to stay in position and square to the ball and then try and stop it.”
Chloe Kapitz arguably came up with the biggest save of the game with five minutes, getting in the way of a bullet that looked like it was going to get inside the post to Brunner’s left directly off a corner kick.
“That’s why we put them there,” Brunner said. “Good job to her. It was a fast ball, fast kick. It was good.”
“Sierra had good touches and control in the middle,” coach Tessmann said. “Our strikers, Shayla Radlinger and Valeria Polendo Soto, they were fast up there and they were able to beat the defenders a few times. We’ll keep working on getting some good touches.”
In the JV game, the Eagles scored with just four seconds left to pull out a dramatic 1-0 win.
With the loss, the Eagles completed the first round of GNC play at 2-3. Lakeland (5-0) and Rhinelander (4-1) hold the top two spots as expected when the season began.
Medford hosts Wausau West in nonconference play Friday and will host Rhinelander on Tuesday to start the second half of GNC competition. Medford goes to Mosinee on May 11.
Tigers 8, Raiders 0
On Friday, a long road to New Richmond did not go as hoped as the Raiders eventually caved in to the Tigers’ offensive pressure and fell 8-0. The game ended via mercy rule with just under five minutes left.
“We were slow in this game,” coach Tessmann said. “The players definitely tried the whole game, but the sense of urgency didn’t seem to quite be there.”
Senior Gaby Aune, one of several returning players from a 2022 team that beat Medford 2-0, had a huge day for the Tigers with four goals. Sophomore Ava Zinck added two as New Richmond improved to 7-3 at the time.
New Richmond got off 39 shots with 27 being on goal. Brunner had 19 saves for the Raiders, including one on a penalty kick in the 50th minute.
“Sophia had an outstanding game,” Tessmann said. “She faced a lot of shots.”
New Richmond’s lead was just 2-0 at the half. With 19 shots in the first 40 minutes, the Tigers got goals at 12:59 off a through ball and 16:37 off a corner kick.
The Tigers broke the game open with a six-goal second half. Tessmann and Radlinger got shots on goal for Medford in the loss.
New Richmond won the JV game 5-0, but Medford rebounded with a 2-0 home win over Shawano on Monday, getting goals from Layla Petersen and Caidyn Zenner.
Medford 2, Antigo 0
Thursday’s Senior Night game with Antigo on Thursday was just the opposite of Friday’s. The Raiders were the team absolutely dominating the possession and playing on the offensive end of the field.
Not a lot of shots, however, found the back of the net, but the Raiders got enough through to earn their first GNC win of the spring.
Antigo put just one rolling shot on goal that Brunner easily scooped up. Medford’s stat book showed 50 shots taken with 27 on goal. Antigo’s Emma Lenzner doing well to get saves on 25 of them. Her work helped the winless Red Robins get to halftime in a scoreless tie.
Medford’s relentless offensive pressure resulted in 15 corner kicks, eight in the first half and seven in the second. All but one were taken by Tessmann. One of those early in the second half finally resulted in the first goal of the game at 45:23. The Raiders didn’t score off the initial touch, but on Antigo’s attempt to clear the ball to midfield, it found the foot of Raider defender Anna Gierl, who perfectly placed her shot from about 25 yards out inside the right post.
After that, shots went high, wide or right onto Lenzner’s hands before a handball on the Robins in the goalie box led to a successful penalty kick from Tessmann at 72:12 that sealed the win. Senior Hannah Kapitz hit the post on a would-be insurance goal at the 76-minute mark.
Ten different Raiders got shots. Megan Schaefer got into double digits, Tessmann had seven shots and Mallory Richter had six.
“Megan took a lot of shots from outside the box, but she has the leg to do it and knows when to look for it and when it’s there,” coach Tessmann said.
Tessmann said one of the unfortunate aspects of this spring is the Raiders haven’t been able to practice shooting outside at the regulation-sized nets as much as they would’ve liked and that may have showed on Thursday. With three games per week through May, she said they’ll certainly use every limited opportunity they get in practice to sharpen up on shooting.
Medford’s Anna Gierl kicks in the first goal of Thursday’s 2-0 win over Antigo on Senior Night at Raider Field.
MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
