Eagles get two GNC wins, remain in second place

The Northland Pines boys soccer team remained in second place in the Great Northern Conference (GNC) following road victories over Mosinee and  Antigo last week.

The Eagles opened the week with a 4-0 win at Mosinee last Tuesday.

“The away games are always a challenge to get the team ready to play,” said Pines coach Rodney Sternhagen. “It seems the bus ride takes their legs. Mosinee came out flying and we would possess and then they would overload one side making overlap runs. It took a while to get our legs under us.”

Just shy of the 20-minute mark, Guilherme Amirez Fonseca took the ball wide and beat four Mosinee defenders for a 1-0 Pines’  lead. Late in the half, Amirez Fonseca found Cody Vojta on a give-and-go and shot the ball low corner to make it 2-0 at the half.

Mosinee came out hard to start the second half, but the Eagles stayed poised and in the 69th minute, Cody Vojta got behind the Mosinee defenders and was fouled in the box for a penalty kick. Vojta converted the PK for 3-0 Pines’ lead.

Three minutes later, Jackson Olejniczak played an angled ball to Cody Vojta, who deked the keeper for a tap-in goal to make the final 4-0.

Pines got 20 shots (10 on goal), while Mosinee took 10 shots (three on goal). The Eagles had four corner kicks compared to just one for Mosinee.

The Eagles traveled to Antigo on Thursday and came home with a 4-1 victory.

The first half was a struggle for Pines, especially connecting on passes. Just under 13 minutes into the game, an Antigo player kicked the 

ball at the Pines keeper, who let the ball get through his fingers and Pines was down 1-0. 

After about a half dozen offensive opportunities and six offsides, Cody Vojta stole the ball from an Antigo defender and beat the Antigo keeper for a goal 36 minutes into the half. After two more missed opportunities, the score stayed even at 1-1 at the half. 

“In the second half, we had the wind at our back and we put pressure on Antigo early,” said Sternhagen.

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, a streaking A.J. Muench took a ball from Amirez Fonseca and put the ball low in the net for a  2-1 Eagles’ lead.

Six minutes later, Amirez Fonseca raced toward the goal and got the attention of three Antigo defenders. He unselfishly slid the ball across to Cody Vojya, who tapped it in to make it 3-1.

Later in the half, Tony Gaetano played a ball to Muench, who got behind the Antigo defense on a breakaway and was fouled in the box. He drilled the PKl into the upper 90 of the net to secure the 4-1 victory.  

“Hats off to the Antigo coach and team,” said Sternhagen. “They worked hard and had us on the ropes early. It’s been a great season by the first-year Antigo head coach. Our boys battled and persevered to notch another conference victory, keeping us in the hunt for the title. I am proud of their grit.’

Pines had 27 shots (20 on goal) and Antigo had just two shots, both on goal. The Eagles had nine corner kicks compared to three for Antigo.

The Eagles, 7-1-1-0 in the GNC and 10-2-3 overall, were scheduled to play at Three Lakes on Monday of this week in a non-conference game. Pines will have its final GNC game of the season against rival Rhinelander this Thursday, Oct. 17, starting at 4 p.m. in Eagle River. The Eagles are just one point behind first-place Lakeland (7-0-1-1) heading into the final week of the regular season.

The WIAA Division 4 Tournament will get underway Tuesday, Oct. 22, with most teams getting a first-round bye. Pines will open Regional tournament play Thursday, Oct. 24, with the team to be determined following the seeding meeting.