Eagles top Cumberland 5-1 in Sectional semi, but lose heartbreaker to Aquinas 2-1 in final

The Northland Pines boys soccer team saw its season come to an end one victory shy of a State Tournament berth, losing a heartbreaking game to Aquinas 2-1 in the Sectional final at Marshfield Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles advanced to the WIAA Division 4 Sectional final following a 5-1 victory over Cumberland on a rain-soaked Sam Larsen Field in Eagle River last Thursday afternoon.

Northland Pines was looking at getting the win in overtime against Aquinas, but a goal by the Bluegolds in the final minute ended the Eagles’ season.

“It was a back and forth battle all game,” said Pines coach Rodney Sternhagen. “It was much like a chess match. The wind was the big factor and the team, with the wind at their back, was like having an extra player.”

Pines, a No. 1 seed in their tournament bracket, had the wind on its back in the first half, hoping that would be an offensive advantage against Aquinas, a No. 2 seed out of La Crosse. Aquinas beat No. 1 seed Columbus Catholic in its Sectional semi on Thursday.

The first 20 minutes were primarily played in the midfield, as both teams put the ball on the best ball handlers’ feet and neither team could connect on passes to get a good look at the goal.

About 38 minutes into the contest, Aquinas was whistled for a foul and Pines called a set play from about 35 yards out. Aquinas held the 18-yard line, but Eagles’ senior Cody Vojta chipped the ball over the 18 line and senior A.J. Muench raced behind the Aquinas defense, collected the ball, and one-touched it into the back of the net to put the Eagles up 1-0 just before halftime.

“At half, we told the boys one goal would not win this and Aquinas came out aggressive early in the second half,” said Sternhagen.

It didn’t take long and Aquinas senior standout forward Vincent Bahr chased down a booted ball on the right side of the field. Pines sophomore defender Ryan Rydeski recovered and pushed Bahr wide, forcing a bad angle shot that appeared to be going wide past Pines’ goalie Ryder Will.

“I think Ryder thought the same thing, and with the wind coming across at the goal, it rolled in the right corner of the net,” said Sternhagen.

With it now tied at 1-1 early in the second half, the game went back and forth. Pines attempted to get the ball wide behind the Aquinas wingbacks, but their defenders foiled every Eagles’ attack.

“We did much of the same against them and it seemed much of the second half was played between the 18s,” said Sternhagen.

Late in the half, Pines played an Aquinas attacker wide and the Bluegolds’ forward played a ball off the shins of the Pines defender, earning a corner kick. The Eagles attempted to clear the corner, but the ball crossed the goalline, resulting in another corner in the 39th minute of the second half.

The corner kick was tipped and deflected, and an unmarked David Onyeabord on the far post found it and put his head on it for an Aquinas goal with just 40 seconds to play.

After the goal, the referees had a conference as there was some appearance that the Aquinas forward was offsides, but after a discussion the goal stood and Pines came up one goal short against Aquinas.

Pines took 11 shots in the game, with eight on goal. Aquinas had 14 shots, most of them in the second half, and put seven on goal. Pines had just one corner kick, while Aquinas had five, including two crucial ones in the final minute. Pines was whistled for 11 fouls, compared to just five for Aquinas. Will, in his final game as a Pines goalkeeper, made five saves for the Eagles.

“The boys worked hard all season and left it all on the field. I am proud that they were able to go toe to toe with a deep Aquinas team. They were highly skilled and had a deep bench. That did not deter our boys from coming after them hard and giving it all they had,” said Sternhagen following the loss.

The Eagles finished the season in second place in the Great Northern Conference and were 14-3-3 overall.

Sternhagen said the entire team played well, but especially noted the play of the seniors, including Ryder Will, Anthony Gaetano, A.J. Muench, Nick Boxrucker and Cody Vojta. “It was a pleasure coaching them for the past four years. Thank you for your legacy at Northland Pines Boys soccer. You will be missed,” said Sternhagen.

The WIAA State Boys Soccer Tournament will be played at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee this Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 7-9.

Sectional semi win

Northland Pines advanced to the Sectional final following a solid 5-1 victory over third-seeded Cumberland on the Eagles home pitch last Thursday.

It didn’t take long for the Eagles to solve the defensive scheme by Cumberland, as just 1:27 into the game junior Guilherme Amirez Fonseca found the channel and Cody Vojta went on an angled run behind the defender and tapped the ball past a charging keeper.

Less than 5 minutes later, Amirez Fonseca picked the pocket of Cumberland’s midfielder and took on the back defenders. He made a couple of ankle-breaking moves and ripped a left-footed ball in the bottom right corner of the net to give Pines a 2-0 lead.

At about the middle point of the first half, Cody Vojta made a wide run with the ball, pulling multiple defenders out of the box. As he lured them out, he played a perfect cross out of the reach of the keeper’s hands and sophomore Jackson Olejniczak crashed the net and pounded it in the upper netting to make it 3-0.

At that point, the Pines coaches placed some younger players in the game. Eight minutes ticked by without any scoring until Cody Vojta deked a defender and fired a shot at the keeper, who could not hang onto the ball with the strong velocity of the shot. Sophomore Sam Shrock tapped it in to make it 4-0 at halftime.

Cumberland started the second half with the kick off, but the Eagles swarmed them and quickly gained possession. Muench took the ball, turned and found Amariz Fonseca, who slid the ball wide just outside of the right corner of the 18 connecting with Tyler Vojta, who beat the aggressive goalie and knocked into the open net for the 5-0 lead.

With some younger players on the field for Pines, Cumberland pounced on a failed clear and a Cumberland forward had little trouble finding the corner of the net from the top of the 18 and the game ended 5-1.

“Cumberland is a lunch box team and works hard from start to finish,” said Sternhagen. “They had a great season. Today was Pines’ day and we just put up more than they could handle. Hats off to the Cumberland boys. They are a classy, hard-working team. They are a top-notch team.”

Pine took 22 shots, with 13 on goal. Cumberland had seven shots with three on goal. Will made two saves for the Eagles. Both teams had three corner kicks and Pines had six fouls compared to three for Cumberland.

Sternhagen said he was appreciative of the Pines fans all season, especially in the poor weather Thursday afternoon.

“The coaches would like to thank all the support of the fans, students, teachers, administration, family and friends. The boys appreciated it,” said Sternhagen.