Last Updated: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 9:27 AM CDT
Penalties costly in Hodags’ loss
Stevens Point scores game’s only two goals on penalty kicks
By Kevin Damask
DAILY NEWS SPORTS REPORTER
In soccer, a couple costly penalties can derail a team’s shot at victory. The Rhinelander boys’ soccer team discovered that cruel fact on Tuesday.
A pair of penalty kicks gave Stevens Point a 2-0 win over the Hodags in Rhinelander. After heading into halftime locked in a scoreless tie, the Panthers received their first free kick early in the second half.
Senior midfielder Brett Napiwocki scored to give Stevens Point a 1-0 lead with 34 minutes and 48 seconds remaining.
With 20:43 left, senior forward Cameron Rousseau scored the Panthers’ second penalty kick.
Hodags coach Dan Millot didn’t agree with the call.
“The first penalty kick was a foul and I could agree with that. It was legitimate,” Millot said. “The second was questionable, but it’s what the referee called. You just have to accept it and move on. I thought our kids did a nice job of that, they didn’t dwell on it.”
After holding Point scoreless for most of the game, the Hodags were suddenly forced into comeback mode.
Similar to the first half, Rhinelander was granted opportunities to score, but failed to take advantage. After the Panthers’ first goal, Rhinelander senior forward Kolin Dean tried to score off a header, but missed. Senior defender Adam Schneider followed with a shot that was saved by Point goalkeeper Will Mitchell. After Schneider’s near miss, senior forward Ferdi Woehr sailed a kick over the net.
Despite the misses, Millot praised the play of Schneider and Woehr.
“Schneider had a nice game on defense and Woehr played a nice game as a midfielder,” Millot said. “We’ve had him in that position the last few games, and he’s stepped up big.”
While the Hodags attacked the Panthers’ zone most of the game, Point’s defense didn’t fold under the pressure.
“We were able to limit them to just a few scoring chances,” Panthers coach Kevin Beyer said.
The win gave Point a 12-4-3 record (7-3 in the Valley) and a pleasant trip home.
“After that long ride (to Rhinelander), it’s hard to get them off the bus and get them motivated,” Beyer said. “But we were able to take care of business.”
While Millot is discouraged by the loss, he believes the offensive is beginning to show signs of life.
“We took a lot more time today to set up our offensive attack,” Millot said. “We took care of the ball very well tonight and, for the most part, we played them hard.”
Dean and Brenan Millot spent most of the night hustling after the ball and trying to get a kick past Mitchell.
However, it wasn’t enough to give the Hodags a pivotal late-season victory in the Valley. Rhinelander falls to 8-7-3 overall and 3-5-2 in the Valley. The Hodags have two important conference games remaining –– at Wisconsin Rapids on Thursday at 7 p.m. and home against Wausau West on Saturday.
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