Wildcats blank Wyandotte, fall to Harmon

Louisburg goalie Shay Whiting stops a Wyandotte shot on goal Monday in Louisburg. Whiting, along with Carson Buffington, combined for the shutout in the Wildcats’ 7-0 win.

 

Less than minute into the contest, Louisburg junior Bailey Belcher found the back of the net for the Wildcats against Wyandotte.

That goal was one of the first of many for Louisburg.

The Wildcats went on to score six more times and picked up their fifth win in a row with a 7-0 victory over Wyandotte on Monday in Louisburg. In all, two players earned hat tricks and the Wildcats handed out five assists.

“We came out and just moved the ball so well,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “We worked as a unit and moved really well off the ball. Our communication was up and we did a great job of working together. Our execution on the offensive end was really good. We were confident and played very aggressive on the defensive end.”

Defensively, outside backs Bryn O’Meara and Camdyn Clark slowed the Wyandotte attack and limited the Bulldogs’ chances on goal. The few chances they got were turned away by goalie Shay Whiting, and then Carson Buffington, who came in for the final five minutes to preserve the shutout.

Belcher and freshman Mackenzie Scholtz each scored three goals in the win and the Wyandotte defense had a difficult time shutting down the Wildcat duo. Savannah Reinhart also added a score.

They also got some help from their teammates as Madisen Simpson and Erin Lemke each recorded two assists and Avery O’Meara added another.

Belcher got Louisburg up early with a goal 55 seconds into the match and Reinhart followed a few minutes later for the game’s second goal. Belcher made it 3-0 on a cross from Simpson, while Scholtz scored midway through the first half on a pass from Lemke, another freshman.

The freshman pair teamed up again right before halftime when Lemke found Scholtz that led to her second goal and a 5-0 halftime lead for Louisburg.

Scoring slowed down a little for the Wildcats in the second half, but they had plenty of chances on goal. They took advantage of one of them as Simpson sent a corner kick near the goal and Belcher took care of the rest with a header that found the back of the net to give Louisburg a six-goal lead and Belcher a hat trick.

Scholtz added a hat trick of her own several minutes later to complete the scoring and seal the win for the Wildcats.

 

Harmon stops Wildcat winning streak

All good things must come to an end sometime, and Louisburg’s five-game winning streak came to a halt Wednesday in its home contest with Harmon.

Harmon scored three unanswered goals in the first half, and despite a strong comeback from Louisburg, the Wildcats couldn’t overcome the tough start in a 3-2 loss.

“Harmon was difficult,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “We went into the wind to start the game and we struggled to keep the ball on the ground. They were aggressive and attacked us off the dribble a lot. We did a nice job of limiting their scoring opportunities, but Harmon capitalized on all three of those opportunities.

“We were sluggish and were kind of just going through the motions. We did have a lot of opportunities. We just could not find the back of the net.”

Mackenzie Scholtz got the Wildcats (5-2-1) on the board shortly before halftime as she cut the Harmon lead to 3-1. Bailey Belcher added another goal midway through the second half, but the Wildcats couldn’t net the tying goal.

“I was extremely pleased with our work ethic and how we kept fighting,” Conley said. “We just struggled with moving off of the ball and passing the ball to our feet. When we were able to do that we created a lot of unbelievable opportunities. The girls never gave up, but we struggled to just find that final pass.”

Louisburg will try to get back on track today when it plays its third game this week. The Wildcats travel to Basehor-Linwood today for a 4:30 p.m. junior varsity start, and the varsity will follow.