Scholtz scores four goals in Wildcats’ rout of Eudora

By Andy Brown
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Updated: September 21, 2017

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior David Holiday sends a pass across the field Thursday during the Wildcats’ match with Eudora. Holiday scored a goal and had an assist in Louisburg’s 8-0 win over the Cardinals.

Once the opening whistle sounded, the Louisburg High School boys soccer team was off and running.

Sophomore Landon Johnson received a quick pass and he sent the ball over to senior teammate Christian Scholtz, who scored Louisburg’s first goal 20 seconds into the match Thursday against Eudora.

It was a sign of what was to come for Scholtz and the rest his Wildcat teammates.

Louisburg pelted Eudora with seven more goals and rolled to an 8-0 victory at Wildcat Soccer Stadium. The Wildcats didn’t score again until the eight minute mark in the first half, but once that happened, the flood gates opened.

“I think we played well and we came out quick,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “Getting a goal in the first 20 seconds really set the tone. We had lots of chances to start, but we just couldn’t bury one early. We just pushed through, and once the outside midfielders started figuring out where they needed to be, we started exposing them on the outside. They tried to take away the middle with their formation, but they left the outside open and we were able to run for days. We had a good showing and the boys were able to find feet and that helps tremendously.”

Scholtz was a big part of the Wildcats’ positive result as he had his best performance of the young season. The Louisburg midfielder finished with four goals as he gave the Cardinals fits on the outside.

“Quite honestly, he could have had quite a few more if I could have gotten him to sprint in that first half,” Conley said. “In the second half, he started getting after it a lot more and he just had free run after free run. We told him he was going to have a big day if he could make that run and the second half he was just on fire.”

The Wildcats (6-1) had plenty of chances on goal throughout the game as they tallied 34 shots on the night and had seven corner kick opportunities.

Those shots started finding the back of the net late in the first half as sophomore Eli Minster scored to make it 2-0 with eight minutes left before halftime.

It David Holiday’s turn as he was able to make an impact off the bench. Holiday, who was injured early on in the year, scored his first goal of the season to make it 3-0.

Holiday then returned the favor a minute later when he sent a pass that set up Scholtz’s second goal of the evening to earn the assist and help give Louisburg a 4-0 lead at halftime.

“He has been hurt for quite some time,” Conley said of Holiday. “We babied him a little bit coming back for the first couple games and then we threw him to the wolves against Baldwin. This time he was just part of the rotation doing his thing. This is as fit as he has been and he is a smart kid that reads it and he had a good night.”

Scholtz continued his big night early in the second half when he scored back-to-back goals to earn the hat trick. Johnson followed with a goal of his own to make it 7-0 with 35 minutes left in the match.

Louisburg midfielder Jarod Rose heads the ball away from the Eudora goal Thursday at Wildcat Soccer Stadium.

Senior Grant Ryals put the game on ice as he converted a penalty kick after being taken down in the box. Fellow senior Brock Bila did a good job of finding his teammates with three second half assists, while Johnson had two assists on the night and Ryals had one.

The defense protected the Wildcats’ big lead as they earned the shutout, and goalies Ambrose Stefan and Dalton Ribrody combined on the clean sheet.

“We were incredibly unselfish and I think that is something that we can build on,” Conley said. “It is the way we have to play, and with the system we have and if we play that way, we are going to be tough to stop.

“Ambrose made a couple big saves and the defense played well. I thought Ryan (Haight) did a great job marking their best player and he didn’t have many touches at all in the first half. It was a team win for sure and the kids played their butts off.”

The Wildcats will try and make it three wins in a row tonight when it travels to Bonner Springs. The varsity match is slated to begin at approximately 6 p.m.