2020 Senior Spotlight: Erin Lemke

By Andy Brown
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Updated: April 24, 2020

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg Sports Zone will be running senior spotlights through April and May everyday (Monday through Friday) in an effort to honor seniors who had their seasons taken away due to the spread of COVID-19.

Going into the spring of her freshman season, Erin Lemke had every intention of going out for track and really didn’t think about anything else.

Then it was brought to her attention that maybe she should give soccer a try.

“I played a couple of seasons when I was little, but nothing competitive,” Lemke said. “I was planning on running track my freshman year, but was convinced otherwise. Soccer quickly became my favorite sport.”

By the time her freshman year was over, it didn’t take long for Lemke to realize she made the right decision.

During the Class 4-1A state quarterfinal game against Piper in 2017, Lemke scored the game-winning goal in overtime to put the Wildcats in the state final four for the first time in school history. It was also just the second year of the program’s existence.

That goal catapulted the Louisburg girls soccer program to three state final four appearances, including back-to-back state runner-up performances in 2018 and 2019. It was a magical moment for everyone involved.

“Erin has an incredible work ethic and drive,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “She became such an impact player for us in such a brief time. She always put the team first and was a great leader for us. Erin always gave everything she had.

“Scoring that goal was incredible her freshman year. Mack (Mackenzie Scholtz) took the ball down the right side and crossed it in to Erin, and she wanted it more than her defender as she buried it in the left corner of the net to send us to our first ever state final four.”

For Lemke, it led to something special as the Wildcat midfielder/forward was named a team captain in 2019 and then again for this coming season. She was a second team All-Frontier League player in 2019 and was a first team all-state selection by the Kansas Soccer Coaches Association.

Even with all the state success and the game winning goal, it was the team moments that Erin Lemke will remember most – especially an emotional victory over Spring Hill last season on Senior Night.

“My favorite memory playing for LHS soccer was the second time we played Spring Hill last season,” Lemke said. “We had lost to them earlier in the season and it was our revenge game. It was close to going into overtime and we played so well together and it was a really fun game.”

Lemke was also looking forward to a Senior Night of her own as she was one of a 12-member senior class for the Wildcats and it was all set to be a special season. Louisburg was considered one of the best teams in Class 4-1A once again this year and the senior class had played vital roles in the team’s past successes.

It was supposed to be a perfect sendoff for Lemke and her senior teammates. Instead, they are all left wondering what could have been with the cancellation of spring sports due to the spread of COVID-19.

“When I found out it was cancelled, I just immediately started crying,” Lemke said. “I was so disappointed we couldn’t see our work pay off. The team started texting each other and the girls were thanking all of us seniors, so it made it better. Not knowing what this team could have accomplished is definitely the hardest part. I am staying positive about the situation because I know that we don’t have it the worst.

“I was looking forward to this season more than any other because it was like these past three years of taking fourth and then second twice, were building to us winning the state championship this season. We have so many seniors and experience, and we are all really good friends, so as soon as my volleyball season ended I was looking forward to my soccer season.”

**Louisburg senior Erin Lemke was a two-time captain for the Wildcats and was one of 12 seniors returning this year.**

Lemke experienced a lot of success in her high school career, including on the volleyball court. She was a member of the state runner-up team in 2018 and then helped Louisburg to a fourth-place finish in 2019.

Still, she was looking forward to taking that next step on the soccer field with the rest of her senior class. Through the first couple weeks of practice, everything was headed in the right direction.

“From the very first practice, it was like we had not missed a beat, and we were all working so well together,” Lemke said. “We all felt like it was our year. We had so much experience and Conley and (Michael) Pickman felt it was gonna be our year too. They had watched us lose in the championship twice and they wanted it just as much, if not more than us.”

Lemke had a very productive career for the Wildcats as she started 48 of her 59 games and earned all-league and all-state honors as a sophomore and a junior.

She finished her career with 29 goals and 27 assists and Lemke has the second-best assist mark for a season in program history with 17 and is third in career assists. She also added seven game-winning goals.

Other than soccer, Louisburg Sports Zone also had a chance to catch up with Erin on how she has been coping with an early end to her senior year and some of her other interests. Here are her responses from the rest of our Q&A.

LSZ: What have you been missing the most during this time away from everyone?

EL: I am missing our team dinners and home games the most because that is what I look forward to most in the spring.

LSZ: What is your most memorable moment as an athlete or in school, and why?

EL: My favorite memory as an athlete would have to be our win against Bishop Miege at Sub-State for volleyball. I love playing revenge games and losing to them the year before in the State Championship motivated our whole team. It was the most fun I had had playing volleyball.

LSZ: What is your favorite activity/hobby outside of sports and why?

EL: I don’t really have a hobby outside of sports, besides hanging out with my friends.

LSZ: What are your plans for after graduation?

EL: I plan on attending the University of Central Missouri, but I am undecided on my major.

LSZ: What accomplishments that don’t involve athletics are you most proud of and why?

EL: Outside of athletics, I am most proud of my involvement in student council. I served as Vice President of Student Council this year, I assisted the President in planning homecomings, fundraisers and led meetings. It was so fun to make the homecoming videos and lead the pep rallies. It created most of my favorite memories from senior year.

LSZ: What do you think would be something that a lot of people don’t know about you?

EL: That I like to paint and practice calligraphy.

Erin’s Favorites

Pro athlete: I really don’t have one

Pro team: Chiefs? I don’t watch pro sports to be honest.

College team: I don’t have a specific one, but I like watching college volleyball

Movie: Little Women

TV Show: Parks and Rec

Song: Bluebird by Miranda Lambert

Band/Musician: Kenny Chesney

Pregame meal/snack: Protein balls

Class/subject: English

Teacher and why: My favorite teacher is Conley. He’s taught me for 2 years and coached me for 3, so we have developed a close relationship. He’s a good mentor and coach. We usually have something, as he would say, “snarky”, to say to each other.