Wildcats record third straight shutout in win over Tonganoxie

Louisburg junior Mackenzie Scholtz scored three goals Wednesday in the Wildcats’ 5-0 win over Tonganoxie in Louisburg.

It may just be a little more than a week into its season, but the Louisburg girls soccer team couldn’t have asked for a better start.

The Wildcats picked up two wins this week, including a 5-0 shutout of Tonganoxie on Wednesday in Louisburg, and have played dominant soccer in its first three games. Louisburg has outscored its opponents, 13-0, to begin the year and the defending state runner-ups have yet to be tested.

Louisburg (3-0) dominated possession against Tonganoxie in what was its second game in as many days. The Wildcats had several chances on goal, and when the Chieftains tried to push up the field, the Louisburg defense was there to turn it away.

It was a balanced effort from the Wildcats as it was a match that saw several players get into the game and get some varsity experience.

“The girls played hard,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “To be quite honest, I think for the first 40 minutes we were just going through the motions. We just talked to the girls about playing our game, and Tonganoxie played a little different by putting five girls in the back and three kids in the middle to take away how we play.

“We were solid, but we just needed to move the ball a little better and I think we did fine. It was a good night to get everyone in and get good reps for everyone. When we played our game, it was much cleaner so that was good to see.”

Junior Mackenzie Scholtz continued her scoring tear against the Chieftains as she scored the game’s first three goals and gave the Wildcats a 3-0 halftime lead. It was the third consecutive hat trick of the season for Scholtz and she currently has nine goals on the year.

Trinity Moore got into the scoring action in the second half. Moore, who was also celebrating a birthday Wednesday, gave herself a couple nice presents.

The Louisburg junior took a shot toward the goal that bounced over the goalie’s head and rolled just across the line to put Wildcats up 4-0. About 30 seconds later, Moore struck again with another goal and all but sealed the win for Louisburg.

Several Wildcats had good looks at the goal, including junior Erin Lemke, who had a nice through ball to Schultz in the first half that led one of her three goals.

The Wildcats also had to make some adjustments throughout the game as the Chieftains played several players back to try and limit the Louisburg runs. It might have slowed them down a little, but the Wildcats figured it out.

“The best part is the progression that we made,” Conley said. “We constantly kept moving and we were problem solving and changing formations a little bit in the midfield. We made some different runs because of what Tonganoxie took away and it was good to see the girls learning and adapting to how it is being played. We had a bunch of good looks at the end and we got to play a bunch of kids. The girls just played hard and had great attitudes.”

Defensively, the Wildcats also played well in their limited opportunities as Carson Buffington had her third shutout of the season, while seniors Kaitlyn Lewer, Camdyn Clark and sophomore Madison Quinn didn’t let much through in the back.

Louisburg will have back-to-back games again next week when it travels to Kansas City Christian on Tuesday and then will go to Frontier League power Spring Hill on Wednesday.

“The girls are doing a good job,” Conley said. “Getting three wins early is a good thing, but we just have to keep progressing. Next week is going to be tough. Kansas City Christian is really good and Spring Hill is really, really good. We are going to have our work cut out for us and we are going to have to do that playing back-to-back games.

“We just have to be ready to go. KCC plays a tough schedule and Spring Hill has a bunch of studs on their team. We will see what we are made of. The girls have done a good job so far and we have executed the way we are supposed to. I think we can be a pretty tough team to play.”

LOUISBURG SHUTS OUT BONNER SPRINGS

Louisburg hit the road for the first time Tuesday when the Wildcats traveled to Bonner Springs and the time away from home didn’t seem to bother them.

The Wildcats got three goals from junior Mackenzie Scholtz as Louisburg pulled away for a 3-0 victory.

“The girls played their butts off,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “Bonner came out with a massive amount of energy and played very hard. We struggled for the first 15 minutes or so. We might have been a little sluggish with a week off since our first game. We knew we needed to match their intensity and I think we did a good job of doing so.”

Scholtz didn’t have much of a problem finding the back of the net as she added a hat trick and she also got some help with that as sophomore Olivia Barber assisted on two of those goals.

Defensively, the Wildcats also shined as Bonner Springs had few chances on goal and Louisburg was able to control the possession.

“We changed our formations at halftime that really limited their attack and allowed us to press them more and force more turnovers,” Conley said. “Yeah the girls played their hearts out and all played very hard. I was extremely happy we handled the changes throughout the game. Our back line played very, very well. I’m very pleased with the way this team is progressing so far.”

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