Wildcats atop Frontier League with wins over Spring Hill, Topeka

Louisburg senior Treston Carlson reacts to scoring the golden goal in overtime last Tuesday during the Wildcats’ win over Spring Hill. The Wildcats lead the league with one match to go.

Last week was important for the Louisburg soccer team, especially when it came to one of their goals – a league title.

Tuesday’s match with Spring Hill was going to tell which team was going to have the upper-hand when it came to the Frontier League crown as both Louisburg and Spring Hill were tied atop the standings.

Louisburg got a pair of dramatic goals from senior Treston Carlson as the Wildcats rallied to force overtime and get a 2-1 victory over the Broncos at Spring Hill High School. That gave the Wildcats a game lead on the Broncos in the league standings and can clinch the title outright with a win over Piper later this week.

The Wildcats (11-1) followed that up with a 3-1 win over Topeka High at home on Thursday as the Louisburg has set itself up for a memorable postseason run.

“Thursday is going to be a tough game against a very scrappy Piper squad,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “They play with a lot of energy and passion and it will be important that we match that. It is crazy to think how fast the season has gone and that the playoffs will be here next week.

“We have done our job and set ourselves up nicely from our regular season record to where we will host until we lose or make the state final four. Our boys have earned that right by our record and our play. I am excited to see how this team does and what they can do in the postseason.”

Carlson helped the Wildcats get that top spot with his two goals against the Broncos as they had to rally from a late Spring Hill score to even force overtime.

Less than five minutes into the match, Louisburg caught a break as the Spring Hill goalkeeper was given a red card and the Broncos were forced to play a man down for the rest of the game.

Louisburg wasn’t able to capitalize on that as the match remained scoreless until three minutes left in the match when Spring Hill’s Hunter Williams ran through the Wildcat defense and scored to put the Broncos on top.

“They outworked us with 10 guys,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “We just did not play our game. They had to attack us and we let the ball bounce a few times. Spring Hill played with so much energy. They were the better team that night and we were fortunate to come away with a win.”

The Wildcats didn’t waste any time to respond as Carlson tied it up with a goal with 1 minute and 30 seconds left in the match to force overtime. Then in the extra period, junior Braden Yows sent the ball into the box and Carlson was there to tap it in for the game-winner.

It was the fifth game-winning goal for Carlson on the season and he has provided the Wildcats with some big moments throughout the year.

“He has done a great job of being consistent for us up top and he is obviously a player that other teams need to pay attention too,” Conley said of Carlson. “He has developed his game so much the past two years and it is paying off for him. I think he is one of the best goal scorers, if not the best goal scorer in our league. He has handled the pressure the other teams are throwing at him and he has excelled.”

Louisburg also got same big saves from its defense as goalie Mack Newell turned away several shots before Williams’ goal to keep the Wildcats in it.

Unlike the slow start against Spring Hill, the Wildcats didn’t take long to get going against Topeka at home on Thursday.

The Wildcats got some help on the attack from its back line as defenders Michael Seuferling and Toby Espina-Roca both got involved in the offense.

To open the match, Carlson scored his third goal of the week, but was able to get it thanks to an assist from Espina-Roca to put the Wildcats up one. It was Seuferling’s turn next as he took a free kick and found the back of the net to put Louisburg up 2-0 at halftime over the Trojans.

“It was nice to see the defense getting into the attack a little more,” Conley said. “We changed how our defensive coverage normally would be and it allowed those boys to push a little bit further. Toby played a great ball in that allowed Treston to go get it with his head.

“As for Michael’s goal, he is usually our left footed option when we line up for our free kick. To be honest, his number hasn’t been called much because of where the ball is located on the free kick, but this one gave us the chance to let him have a shot and he didn’t disappoint.”

Sophomore Gavin York all but sealed the win for the Wildcats as he recorded his first varsity goal with a shot near the net and gave Louisburg its second victory on the week.

“I think the boys played well and did a nice job limiting Topeka High’s chances for a majority of the game,” Conley said. “They were a talented team and the majority of the game was played in the midfield, but I thought we did a nice job of controlling the tempo and keeping the game in front of us. We expended a massive amount of energy and did a nice job of executing our game plan.”