Bounce-back win

A tie against Hayward disappointed the Lakeland Union High School girls’ soccer team last week. They bounced back with their first regular season win over Ashland in eight years.

The Thunderbirds beat non-conference Ashland 2-0 on the road on Monday. Then, Lakeland took to the road again and defeated Antigo 11-1 in 60 minutes on Tuesday. 

Lakeland 2, Ashland 0

Two Bobbi Lee goals and another shutout defensive performance gave Lakeland one of their biggest victories of the season.

“I remember saying on the bus ride yesterday against Ashland, ‘We can’t have two bad games in a row guys,’” Lee said. “I was going into it pretty confident, I think we all were. We knew we had a good chance, and we were just really hoping to get a win over them. It’ll be really helpful for seeding so we were really confident going into the game I think.”

“She was able to put pressure on the defense and the goalie,” coach Stephanie Hartzheim said. “She is someone that does not give up until the ball is out of bounds, in the goalie’s hands or in the back of the net.”

Lexi Gindorff races Antigo’s Abby Pennington to the net in the first half of a conference game Tuesday, May 13 at Listle Field in Antigo. Gindorff scored a career-high three goals.
(Photo by Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)

Monday’s win was Lakeland’s first over Ashland since a dramatic WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal win in penalty kicks on June 9, 2022. It was the Thunderbirds’ first win over the Oredockers in the regular season since May 11, 2017. Both of those wins came in Minocqua.

It is unclear when the last time was that the Thunderbirds beat Ashland in Ashland. 

“It was a hot game on grass, which is always a challenge,” Hartzheim said. “I am not sure the last time we won on their grass field. We had to work on containing on defense. They had some fast players up top that had some opportunities to dribble past us, but we were able to work together in the back to figure them out. We had some nice passes on offense with through balls and high balls that gave us many offensive opportunities.”

Lee’s first goal came at the 28 minute, 55 second (28:55) mark of the first half. Karsyn Dyre had the assist.

“Justine (Abel) took a far out shot that sent the ball into the box,” Hartzheim said. “Karsyn was able to get a touch on it back to Bobbi, and Bobbi was able to finish it one touch.”

In the second half, Lee’s persistence paid off. There was a scramble for the ball. Lee got up off the ground and ended up tapping the ball in for her second goal at 66:16. The assist went to Dyre, her second.

“To be honest, I don’t even remember getting off the ground from that,” Lee said. “Next thing I know, I had a ball at my foot, and it was going in. My parents taught me never to give up on anything, and I’ve always been such a competitive person so it’s really easy for me to just get up and get back into the game when I need to.”

Shots were even at 15 apiece. Lakeland’s defense rose to the occasion to thwart any of Ashland’s runs. For the first time in 10 years, the Thunderbirds shut out the Oredockers.

“I think just maintaining instead of stepping to the ball,” Lee said about Lakeland’s defense. “We’re more containing a person, cause if we step, they’re just going to go right around us. Our defense — they’re amazing at talking with one another, and we all have good speed and just overall play well with everyone.”

Keeper Ava Evenhouse made 11 saves, her most in one game since the season opener at Notre Dame Academy on April 4.

“It was a 50/50 game with offense and defense,” Hartzheim said. “We were able to support and cover each other on defense. They had a few good shots that were close to scoring. Kasey Wise was able to clear one out that was almost in the goal. Ava had saves that could have been a goal if she had not come out. The defense and Ava had a great game working together to support each other to prevent them from taking shots on goal.”

The 2-0 win gives Lakeland a nice victory for their résumé.

“We knew it was a big game,” Hartzheim said. “This game was non-conference, but was going to help with the seeding meeting.”

Lakeland 11, Antigo 1

The Thunderbirds stayed in the hunt for a conference championship with a win over the Red Robins on Tuesday night.

“It was hard coming off of a physical and draining games yesterday,” Hartzheim said. “I could tell the girls were not at their full capacity. We struggled with coming out with high energy. We came out and gave it all we had left. It made it challenging with the thick grass.”

Lakeland scored a season-high 11 goals, their most in one game since May 3, 2022 when they scored 14 times against Antigo.

“We had little-to-no recovery time,” Hartzheim said. “Two games in a row is not easy. Even though we won 11-1, we were not able to play at full power.”

Lee contributed a game-high 10 points on four goals and two assists. 

Lexi Gindorff put together a strong performance coming off the bench. She had the hat trick with three goals, all coming in the first half. She added an assist in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Justine Abel found the back of the net for the first time this season. She scored the 11th and final goal.

“We are able to click more and more every game,” Hartzheim said. “The girls are getting more confident and comfortable playing with each other.”

Tayiah Bauman registered her second goal of the season in the second half. She also picked up two assists for four points.

Cale Quade showed her offensive skills with a goal in the first half. Dyre scored once and assisted another.

Other assists went to Molly Jorgensen and Jenna Klappa. 

The Red Robins only took one shot, and it went in. Marty Bauer put the Red Robins on the board in the 14th minute, making the score 3-1, Lakeland’s lead.

Bauer’s goal ended Lakeland’s six-game shutout streak dating back to April 24. It was the Thunderbirds’ first goal given up since the Rhinelander game on April 22.

Up next

Lakeland played Mosinee in a conference contest on Thursday in Minocqua. Coverage of this game will be in the Tuesday, May 20 edition of The Lakeland Times.

Then, the Thunderbirds (9-2-2, 5-1 GNC) host Northland Pines on Tuesday, May 20 beginning at 7 p.m.

Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].