Wildcats down rival Paola, stay perfect

By Andy Brown
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Updated: September 12, 2016

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior defender Kolten Ragan clears the ball away during the Wildcats’ home contest with Paola last Tuesday. Louisburg defeated Paola 3-0 and won its third straight game to begin the season.

The Louisburg High School boys soccer team experienced the best of both worlds following last Tuesday’s contest with Paola.

Not only did the Wildcats get a chance to knock off their rival in a 3-0 victory at home, but Louisburg’s victory over Paola also kept the Wildcats perfect in the standings as they recorded their third straight win to start the season.

It wasn’t easy as the Paola defense made the Wildcats work for it, especially early on as several Louisburg shots sailed either just wide of the goal or were saved by the Paola goalie.

The Wildcats eventually broke through with a goal in the first half and two more in the second to preserve the win.

Herman Knipp celebrates with teammate Calvin Cassida (8) after scoring Louisburg’s first goal Tuesday against Paola.

“I feel that we did a great job possessing the ball and making some quality connecting passes throughout the midfield,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “I feel we did a very nice job of dictating the pace of play and how the game was controlled. It is really nice seeing how this team keeps progressing and improving each night out.

“I feel that we did face a little adversity within the final third. I do not think we were aggressive enough or we tried to play that perfect pass. With that being said, the boys work rate was high and we posted a lot of pressure against their back four.”

Louisburg’s attack did put pressure on the Paola defense early as the Wildcats had several opportunities in the game’s opening minutes. Sophomore Jonathan Ventre, junior Christian Scholtz and senior Curran Conklin had shots on goal, while Noah Juarez hit a header off a corner kick but it was saved by the Paola keeper.

Senior Herman Knipp finally snuck one past the Paola defense with a goal in the 35^th minute on an assist from senior Calvin Cassida to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead and they would take that into halftime.

In the 56^th minute, Juarez got in on the scoring as he took a shot from the top of the box and put it in the left corner of the net to give Louisburg a two-goal lead. Knipp then added his second goal in the 73^rd minute to all but seal the win.

“Herman did a nice job of playing simple and taking what the other team gave him,” Conley said. “We have been working on changing the type of run he has been making and it showed. With our scoring the way it has been, we have been very balanced. I feel it shows how any given night anyone is capable of putting a few in the back of the net.”

Defensively, the Wildcats didn’t give the Panthers much of an opportunity for good looks at the goal. Paola did have two shots on goal in the second half, but the Louisburg defense held on and goalie Ambrose Stefan recorded his second shutout of the season.

The Wildcats were scheduled to square off with Spring Hill on Thursday but due to the weather, the game was postponed and moved to Oct. 17.

Louisburg will try for its fourth straight win this Tuesday when it travels to defending Frontier League champion De Soto. Junior varsity is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., and varsity will play at 6 p.m.

To view a photo gallery from the game, please click here.

Junior varsity stays perfect with shutout of Paola

The Louisburg High School junior varsity soccer team put on a goal-scoring show last Tuesday against Paola as the Wildcats rolled to a 10-0 victory to run their record to 3-0 on the season.

Eli Minster recorded a hat trick with three goals and teammates Chris Williams and David Holiday each had a pair of scores. Ryan Haight, Will Frank and Brian Arnold also added a goal.