Carlson’s golden goal lifts Louisburg past Baldwin

Louisburg senior Treston Carlson (12) is surrounded by his teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime in the Wildcats’ 1-0 victory over Baldwin.

Coming off a nearly two week layoff, the Louisburg boys soccer team got a chance to host one of the top teams in the Frontier League and did so without much practice.

The Wildcats squared off with Baldwin on Monday in hopes of keep their undefeated season alive. Both teams had their chances on goal and it ended up taking extra time to decide the winner.

Luckily for Louisburg, senior Treston Carlson was in the right place at the right time.

Senior Logan Faulkner sent a pass near the goal and Carlson’s foot was there to tap it in and give the Wildcats a 1-0 win over the Bulldogs at the Wildcat Sports Complex.

“It wasn’t the prettiest, but a goal is a goal,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “Treston is kind of a junkyard dog and will clean up the mess a little bit. I was getting mad at him for carrying the ball so much instead of giving it up and keep moving. They kept sending two guys at him all the time and then he did something like that to totally redeem himself. I was really happy for the boys to see them pull it out and get a win.”

After a slow start to the match, Louisburg started taking shots on goal, but either the Wildcats missed open looks or were denied by the Baldwin goalkeeper.

Carlson, Cade Gassman, Braden Yows and Colin McManigal all had shots on goal, but were unlucky until the Wildcats hit overtime.

“It is really tough to play a team like this when you come back (off quarantine) with two practices and a game,” Conley said. “They do a lot of things to you and Baldwin plays so fast and so hard. We struggled to match that intensity at first, but after the first 10 minutes, I think we had the better of play. We had way more chances than they did, and I don’t know how many times we were inside the 6 and just couldn’t bury it.

“The frustration started to mount a little bit and we were just trying to keep everyone positive and to stay with it. Baldwin just does a lot of things to frustrate you. They play so direct and so aggressive that it makes it tough to play our game a little bit. We had moments where we were really, really good and there were moments that we were really bad too. Our marking up in the back was pretty rough, but we are just going to get back to work.”

Louisburg’s defense also came up big late in the match. With five minutes remaining in regulation, the Bulldogs took a shot that appeared it was going to find the corner of the net, but sophomore goalie Mack Newell made a diving finger-tip save to knock it away.

It was a save that allowed the golden goal from Carlson and kept the Wildcats perfect on the young season.

“I think the kids did a good job,” Conley said. “Our fitness isn’t where it needs to be after we took 10 days off, so we are trying to get back fit and it is one of those things. This is a really good rivalry and I think we always have good games when we come together. It would have been nice if we would have finished a few more of our chances, and I am sure Baldwin feels the same way.

“We are playing hard and not taking anything for granted because we don’t know what tomorrow is going to look like. We are playing like there is no tomorrow and we are just going to keep grinding and keep pushing.”

Louisburg blanks Paola to win fifth straight

In what was its third game in five days, Louisburg hosted rival Paola on Tuesday and the Wildcats did more than enough to get past the Panthers.

Twenty-one players saw minutes for the Wildcats and five different players scored goals in a 6-0 rout of Paola at the Wildcat Sports Complex.

“It was an up and down game for us,” Conley said. “I felt we did not play the greatest and we didn’t play with much energy. To be honest, we were flat and we struggled to execute like we usually do. I do feel that we did do some nice things, but we were not as consistent as I would have liked.

“We were able to get all 21 kids into the game and rest some legs and also allow those other young men to gain some experience. We were also able to give some of our hurt kids an extra day of rest and healing.  We will have our fourth game in six days against Ottawa and fatigue will be a factor.”

Sophomore Cade Gassman got the Wildcats on the board with two goals in the first 10 minutes to give them an early lead. Junior Braden Yows added another score and Louisburg had a 3-0 lead at halftime.

The Wildcats controlled possession throughout and they were able to tack on more scores in the second half. Sophomore Colin McManigal and senior Treston Carlson each found the back of the net to go up five.

With seconds left in the match, senior Dylan Armstrong sealed the win with his first goal of the season.

Louisburg will try to remain undefeated tonight against Ottawa at home as the Wildcats try for their sixth straight win.

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