Wildcats blank Fort Scott in opener

By Andy Brown
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Updated: September 3, 2015

Louisburg’s Grant Ryals pulls back on a ball to try and get past a Fort Scott defender during Tuesday’s season opener in Louisburg. The Wildcats ran away with the match to win 10-0 and scored eight first half goals.

Thirty seconds into the match, T.J. Svoboda found himself one-on-one with the Fort Scott goalkeeper.

Svoboda’s shot found the back of the net, and in the blink of an eye, Louisburg had its first lead of the season. Three hat tricks, and about 50 minutes later, the Wildcats had their first win.

Louisburg had no problem with the lesser-experienced Fort Scott team Tuesday in its home opener as it rolled to a 10-0 victory. The match was called 12 minutes into the second half once the Wildcats got their 10^th goal.

“We trained really hard all summer and these guys were just ready to play against somebody and that was unfortunate for Fort Scott,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “Fort Scott is a young team and I know they will only get better, but we did some good things as well. It was nice to have a game where we can get our feet wet and try some things out.”

The Wildcats were definitely able to work on their shooting skills as they peppered the Fort Scott defense with shot after shot from the game’s opening seconds. Louisburg was able to take advantage of some Tiger mistakes in the back to take an early lead.

Senior Cale Schneider, junior Noah Juarez and sophomore Christian Scholtz answered for the Wildcats as they scored three goals each to complete the shutout and quickly get their first hat tricks of the season.

“It went well,” Schneider said. “We got a lot of time on the ball, and since the competition wasn’t as good, we were able to work it around and get a good feel for how the team looks this year.

“Going into the game, there was a little nerves just because it was the first game, but once T.J. scored that first goal we just got into a rhythm and went on from there.”

Defender Scott Murphy heads the ball away from a Fort Scott player Tuesday in the Wildcats’ season opener in Louisburg.

Following Svoboda’s goal, the Wildcats put the pressure on as they put five shots on goal in the next 10 minutes before Scholtz scored his first goal of the game in the 11^th minute. Less than a minute later, Schneider answered as he was able to tap in a goal in a scrum around the net.

Schneider scored again in the 18^th minute to make it 4-0 before Fort Scott helped out the Wildcat cause. The Tigers were called for a hand ball in the box, which turned into a penalty kick for Juarez who easily knocked it past the goalie.

Juarez added another goal in the 27^th minute and Scholtz added a score two minutes later. Scholtz was the first to record a hat trick when he got a good pass from Curran Conklin in the 32^nd minute to make it 8-0 at halftime.

Louisburg started the second half much like they did the first as Svoboda assisted Schneider on his third goal of the game in the 46^th minute. Juarez sealed the win in the 52^nd minute with the game’s final score.

“I felt last year we were put into a corner to play more defensively because of our personnel,” York said. “We have had a lot of kids get a lot better. Christian Scholtz is as tall as I am now, Grant (Ryals) has played a full year up in the city and Cale belongs up top or out wide, depending on where we need him. He is fast, big, strong and has a presence. That is where he should have been last year, but we needed him in the back.”

Although they didn’t score, the Wildcats still had a lot of players on the offensive. Grant Ryals, Raistlin Brewer, Herman Knipp and Jairus Brown all had shots that were just wide of the goals.

As much fun as the offense had, the Wildcat defense didn’t do much as Fort Scott managed just one shot on goal and didn’t provide much of a test for goalie Michael Minster.

“Michael is going to be called upon to be big time for us this year,” York said. “I think both Michael and Ambrose (Stefan) have improved enough that I think we have a formidable team and a solid goalkeeper. Michael really developed last year and over the summer. I want to see him get some more work, but I don’t. He is good, and he will do well, but I would like to keep the ball out of his hands for as long as I can.”

The Wildcats will encounter a bigger test today when they travel to Ottawa for their first Frontier League matchup. The varsity match is set for 6 p.m.

“We are a work in progress and (today) is going to be an interesting day to see how we do when we come up against someone who is just as big, fast and strong as we are,” York said. “Ottawa is always a big rivalry for us and they have gotten us the last couple of years. They graduated a lot from last year but I am sure they will be ready to play.”