MEDFORD GIRLS SOCCER - Warriors bury Medford after half; Comets strike early
MEDFORD GIRLS SOCCER
The Medford Raiders visited one of their toughest annual non-conference foes Tuesday and hung right with Rice Lake for a half, but the Warriors hit them with a four-goal barrage in the first 15 minutes of the second half and cruised to a 6-0 girls soccer win.
Marianna Gilbert was the star of the night for Rice Lake as she had a hand in five of Rice Lake’s goals, scoring two and assisting on three.
“We held up well and played a good first half,” Medford head coach Tanya Tessmann said. “We were able to possess the ball some and hold the ball in their half of the field at times. They scored with 20 seconds left in the half. I’m not saying it would have ended differently had they not gotten that goal, but it definitely affects momentum. In the second half they kept up the pressure. It only takes a few seconds for a breakdown to happen.”
That key first goal at 39:41 came off the foot of Clara Drost. The play actually started with about 40 yards out from the goal. Gilbert took a pass and then sent the ball to Drost for the goal.
At 42:08, Gilbert carried the ball up the right side into the offensive zone and centered to Audriana Schultz. Gilbert took the shot herself at 45:41. Again she brought it up the right side and crossed a shot that tucked inside the left post for a 3-0 lead.
Gilbert’s pass across the field found Elise Johnson unmarked and she put a short shot in at 52:05. Stella Scharf scored from point-blank range during a scramble in front of the net at 55:12, then Gilbert closed the scoring at 63:55 when her long shot hit the left post and rolled in.
Rice Lake had 23 shots. Medford goalie Peyton Boelk had six saves.
Medford held out two key players, Chloe Pipkorn and Caidyn Zenner, who are nursing injuries.
“Not having Chloe left us with our entire back line consisting of players new to varsity,” Tessmann said. “They played hard. They gave 100%. We still have to learn and gain that experience of when to stay back or when to step up and pressure immediately.
“Aubri Sperl stepped into the center back and played well,” she added. “Kameron Decker had a non-goalie save and Amelia Pernsteiner got a save on a close one. Captains Megan Schaefer and Talyn Peterson were all over the pitch.”
Rice Lake won the JV game 3-0. Now 1-2-1, the Raiders open Great Northern Conference play today, Thursday, at Northland Pines. The game starts at 4:30 p.m. Medford’s long stretch of road games continues next week with a non-conference game at Wausau East Tuesday and a GNC matchup at Rhinelander on April 24. Both of those games start at 7 p.m.
Waupaca 3, Medford 1
On Thursday, Medford was scored upon for the first time this spring with host Waupaca connecting on two quick ones and then holding on for a 3-1 nonconference win. Schaefer got Medford’s goal in the 62nd minute, taking a throw-in from Peterson to cut Waupaca’s lead to 2-1.
“She made an amazing shot from the right, crossing the goal and finding the upper left corner,” Tessmann said.
While that gave the Raiders a spark, they weren’t able to get the equalizer and Waupaca got a perfectly-placed shot in the top right corner late at 74:26 to put the game out of reach.
Medford’s two-game shutout streak to end the season didn’t last long into game three. Just 1:56 in, Waupaca’s Taylor Kling spun away from some defensive pressure and sent a right-to-left shot that Boelk got a fingertip on but she didn’t get enough to stop it from tucking inside the far post.
Over the next 10 minutes, the Raiders held the ball on Waupaca’s side of the field for the most part. They had a near miss as Kodi Rappe’s redirect of a Schaefer corner kick went just left of the post. The Raiders got another corner kick from the other side of the field just seconds after that but couldn’t turn Bayley Metz’s kick into a good shot.
Boelk smothered a good, hard shot by Kling at 13:30, but a 25-yard bullet by Ava Kneer at 17:57 was unstoppable and gave the Comets a 2-0 lead.
“We did fail to put pressure on her quickly,” Tessmann said of that goal.
Boelk had a couple of saves in the last 10 minutes of the half to keep it at 2-0.
“In the 53rd to 54th minute it was all Shayla Radlinger,” Tessmann said. “She was a wall. Their defense kept trying to clear it and she was right there, taking it absorbing it, taking it back. They attempted to clear it up the field but she was right there. One of them resulted in a shot when she got it up the field.”
Boelk made a diving save off a Waupaca corner kick at the 60-minute mark and not long after that, Schaefer got Medford on the board. Boelk finished with 13 saves as Waupaca took 26 shots. Schaefer had six shots and Radlinger had three to lead Medford.
“I feel like the score really didn’t reflect the game,” Tessmann said. “They did outshoot us, but we definitely had some offensive opportunities. The defensive mids looked great. Talyn is fast, she pressures and holds well and fights for the ball and the majority of the time. She comes away with it. Amelia Pernsteiner is really learning the position well and it’s great to see her drop back when needed to cover deep. Shayla had a good game. She really put the pressure on Waupaca’s defense. She’s moving, talking and making good runs.
“I’m still happy with the changes we’re making with our formation,” Tessmann added. “Our defense is doing well but we are definitely getting more scoring and offensive opportunities with the two up. You can see that potential starting to build and hopefully it just keeps kicking into gear, especially when we hit conference play.”
Waupaca won the JV game 7-1. Abbie Marzinske got Medford’s goal on a penalty kick.
