Pines remains in hunt for title after perfect week

The Northland Pines boys soccer team stayed in the hunt for a Great Northern Conference (GNC) championship following a shootout victory over first-place Lakeland under the lights at Minocqua last Thursday night.

The teams were tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation, but Northland Pines had the upper hand in the shootout, connecting on all five shots. Meanwhile, Lakeland connected on just three of four of its shots to give Pines the overtime victory. In GNC standings, teams get three points for a regulation win, two points for a shootout win, and one point for a shootout loss.

Lakeland still leads the GNC with 15 points, but the Eagles are a close second with 14 points.

The Northland Pines and Lakeland game lived up to the pregame hype as Lakeland has a stingy defense and counters with speed. The T-Birds came into the game with a 4-0-1 record while Pines was 4-1-0.

Twenty-one minutes into the contest, Lakeland scored on a low corner shot. But five minutes later, Pines responded as Ryan Rydeski stole the ball from a Lakeland attacker and found Cody Vojta, who deked the goalie to tie the game at 1-1.

In the 65th minute, Cody Vojta dropped the ball back to brother Tyler Vojta, who ripped the ball at the net. An attacking A.J. Muench took the eyes away from the keeper and Tyler Vojta’s shot put Pines on top 2-1. 

“Lakeland is a hard-working team and refused to quit,” said Pines coach Rodney Sternhagen. “Their center midfielder found a failed clear ball and attacked the right side of the goal, creating some confusion, and our back came in hard on a tackle and fouled in the box, giving up a penalty kick in the last 30 seconds.”

Lakeland converted the PK and the game ended in a heartbreaking tie. But the Eagles controlled the shootout by a 5-3 margin.

“You have to tip the hat to Lakeland for their hard work,” said Sternhagen. “That was a true GNC battle!”

Pines had 10 shots, while Lakeland took 16 shots. Both teams had eight shots on goal and both teams were called for 11 fouls. Eagles’ goalie Easton Otto made six saves in regulation.

Win at Cumberland

The Eagles also traveled to Cumberland last Tuesday for a nonconference game against a possible Regional opponent.

“We came out strong, possessing early and really picking apart their defense with simple touches and passes into the channels.” said Sternhagen. “Their keeper made a ton of key saves to keep Cumberland in the game. It easily could have been four or five to nothing in the first 15 minutes.”

Cumberland rallied behind their keeper’s performance, but late in the first half, a cross drew a handball in the box for a Pines’ PK. Senior striker Cody Vojta put Pines on the board with a shot in the low, left side of the net.

Pines let a long throw-in get behind the defense on a missed clear and the Cumberland striker was able to beat Otto at the net. After all the early shots and pressure, Pines went into the half tied at 1-1.

“The boys had their heads hanging as if we lost,” said Sternhagen. “We reminded them they just need to finish by keeping the shots low and crashing the net.”

Two minutes into the second half, Cody Vojta drilled a slotted ball low into the net to make it 2-1.  Sixty minutes in, freshman defender Dechlan Favorite stole a pass, took two touches and found Cody Vojta coming from the sidelines and he ripped a low shot, beating the keeper for the 3-1 advantage.

Five minutes later, Cody Vojta finished with a four-goal game and solidified the victory. 

Pines emptied the bench and Cumberland took advantage of the inexperience and some miscommunication, booting the ball in the top left corner of the net. The game would end 4-2 and an Eagles victory. 

Pines had 30 shots compared to 10 for Cumberland. Otto had six saves for the Eagles.

The Eagles were scheduled to host Washburn on Monday of this week and will play at Medford (0-3-1 in GNC) this Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. Next Tuesday, Oct. 8, Pines will travel to Mosinee (2-2-1) for a 7 p.m. game.