Wildcats blank Baldwin for seventh win in a row

Louisburg freshman Hayli Detherage dribbles past at Baldwin opponent during Tuesday’s match in Louisburg. The Wildcats shutout Baldwin 4-0 to get their seventh consecutive win and are now 12-2-1 on the season.

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All it took was one minute to put the Louisburg girls soccer team in prime position for its seventh victory in a row.

The Wildcats never let up after that.

Louisburg scored two goals in the opening minute and eventually pulled away for a 4-0 victory over Baldwin on Tuesday in Louisburg. It marked the second win in as many days as it defeated Ottawa on Monday.

The two wins catapulted the Wildcats to a 12-2-1 record on the season and they have locked up one of the top two seeds in the regional tournament next week.

“We played well for the most part, especially playing the day before and that is always something that is unknown,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “With our limited numbers it makes it really hard to do so because it is so easy to get run down. Fatigue-wise we have 24 kids trying to play two games and we had a couple injuries hit again because of the physicality of the game, which is fine. It is the time of the year where you just have to suck it up and be tough.”

The Wildcats have certainly played tough in recent weeks as they have won seven consecutive games and haven’t lost since April 14. That loss, ironically, comes against the Lady Cats’ next foe, Spring Hill.

Louisburg hosts the Broncos on Thursday for senior night after falling to them 3-2 last month. The Wildcats have been on quite a tear since. They have jumped to the No. 4 team in Class 4-1A in the Kansas Soccer Coaches Association rankings and No. 3 in the latest KPI rankings.

“The girls are focused and they know what is going on,” Conley said. “They are just playing well. We are pretty fired up. With social media and the parents getting a little more excited, people started to pay attention a little bit more, which is kinda cool. We have just been preaching the whole time that you have to stay level-headed no matter how bad or good it gets. You can’t get too high or too low, otherwise it will fall apart one way or another.

“Credit to them, they have done a heck of a job staying level-headed and they enjoy it. They are ready to work and they want more and they know more is there to be had. It is awesome and a lot of fun right now.”

Focus wasn’t a problem for Louisburg against Baldwin as it opened the game with a goal 30 seconds into the contest. Sophomore Bailey Belcher took the open space, beat two Baldwin defenders and took a shot from the top of the box that sailed over the Baldwin goalie’s head for the 1-0 lead.

Thirty seconds later, the Wildcats struck again.

Junior Lily Cook, off an assist from Belcher, found the back of the net to put the Wildcats up 2-0 and they were well on their way to another win.

Toward the end of the first half, Belcher struck again. Junior Madisen Simpson placed the ball over the Baldwin defense and caught Belcher in stride, as she beat the goalie on a 1-on-1 opportunity.

With 22 minutes left in the second half, the Wildcats sealed the win with their final goal. Sophomore Savannah Reinhart made her way toward the goal and took a shot, which rebounded off the Baldwin goalie and Cook was there to put it away.

“It was a good start for us,” Conley said. “Unfortunately for Baldwin that is the way it has been for them lately. They have had a tough go of it with their starts so we knew we could get on them early. They are a much better team than what their record shows and they are really well coached and play the right way.

“It was big for us and I think we got a little comfortable, maybe too comfortable, because they started coming at us and we stopped playing so hard. We both played (Monday) knowing that fatigue was going to set in for somebody, especially with the heat. It was definitely a nice win.”

Louisburg’s defense held Baldwin to just four shots on goal and sophomore goalie Shay Whiting picked up her seventh shutout of the season.

Rylee Bergh, Georgia Wilde, Camdyn Clark, Lilly Scott, Simpson, Bryn O’Meara and Kaitlyn Lewer provided the Wildcats with strong back line.

“In our first game against Baldwin we only gave up three shots and one was because of a foul and the other was a penalty kick,” Conley said. “We knew our defense was sound and that we were going to hold up well. We just needed to make sure we were covered up tight because they play a very direct style.”

The junior varsity picked up another win with a pair of second half goals. Wilde broke a scoreless tie in the second half and then Cook followed up with a goal on an assist from Peyton Shaffer.

Sophomore goalie Sarah Wilson recorded the shutout.

 

Wildcats breeze past Ottawa

OTTAWA – The question wasn’t whether the Lousiburg girls soccer team would beat Ottawa, but a matter of how long it would take.

Louisburg took it to the Cyclones early and never looked back in the 10-0 victory Monday in Ottawa. The Wildcats scored eight goals in the first half and added two more in the second before the game was called early in the second half due to the mercy rule.

“The girls did a good job handling a different playing style than we are used to seeing and poor field conditions,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “The girls played a direct game and were focused. I think it allowed us to work on some things that helped us against Baldwin. They girls played a nice game, but we focused on improving our communication on the field. I think that carried over against Baldwin very nicely.”

Sophomore Bailey Belcher recorded a hat trick in the first half for Louisburg and finished the game with a season-high four goals. Senior Maddie McDaniel and sophomore Savannah Reinhart each had a pair of goals and McDaniel also had an assist.

Freshman Camdyn Clark and sophomore Isabella Ford each added a goal, while freshman Hayli Detherage and senior Lilly Scott each recorded an assist.

It was Ford who got the scoring started early in the first half in her first game back after sitting out with an injury for five weeks. Ford was among the team leaders in goals scored before her injury.

“It was nice to get some kids back that were sidelined with some lingering injuries and to have Izzie back,” Conley said. “She was a little rusty, but you could see that her thought process was in the right place. She knew what she wanted to do with the ball as she received it, so that is always a good sign.”