Wildcats remain perfect with wins over Baldwin, Tonganoxie

Louisburg sophomore Toby Espina-Roca holds off a Tonganoxie player last Tuesday during the Wildcats match at Tonganoxie High School.

The Louisburg boys soccer team hasn’t had to venture out on the road much so far this season, that was until this past week when the Wildcats had to travel to Baldwin and Tonganoxie.

Being away from home didn’t seem to bother the Wildcats. All they did was pick up a pair of victories that helped them stay undefeated on the season.

Last Tuesday, Louisburg earned a 2-0 result at Tonganoxie High School, and then two days later, did the same at Baldwin as the Wildcats shut out the Bulldogs, 2-0. The Wildcats are now 8-0 on the season as they continue to rack up wins in the Frontier League.

“It was good to get a couple road wins,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “Going to Tonganoxie and playing on the turf was interesting for us. We did really well, but some of the passes we get on grass, rolled out on turf. I do think we settled in nicely in the game and had some fantastic chances. Tonganoxie did do a very nice job in the midfield. Our backline played really well and made some key plays.

“As for Baldwin, I felt the boys played much better and controlled the majority of the game. We did a very nice job of setting the pace of the game and moving the ball.”

The Wildcats got out to a quick start against Tonganoxie as Louisburg got on the scoreboard in the first 10 minutes. Junior midfielder Braden Yows sent a pass toward the goal and senior forward Treston Carlson headed the ball to give the Wildcats an early lead.

“It was nice to see those two connect,” Conley said. “We have done a nice job with our service to the forwards and inside the 18. For the most part, we have done a very nice job finishing and capitalizing on our chances. That also set the tone and forced the game to change on how it was played.” 

Junior Jaden Vohs doubled the score late in the first half with a goal of his own after he rebounded a Carlson shot off the post to give the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage at halftime.

 It was all the Wildcats needed as the back-third took care of the rest.

Defenders Luke Faulkner, Michael Seuferling, Toby Espina-Roca, Hunter Rogers, Ethan Showalter and goalie Mack Newell provided a solid defense that has been strong all season. Tonganoxie put several shots on goal in an effort to tie the match, but Newell had six saves, while Faulkner cleared a ball just off the line to keep the shutout alive.

The Wildcat defense has earned shutouts in six of their eight victories this season and it has become a strength of the team.

“Our defense has done a fantastic job of limiting our opponents’ true goal scoring chances,” Conley said. “We have been very disciplined and organized in the back. Our backline have been ball hunters and Mack has done a great job in the net for us.”

On Thursday, the Wildcats faced Baldwin for the second time this season – the first was a close overtime win for Louisburg.

They didn’t need to play extra minutes this time around as Louisburg scored a goal in each half and left Baldwin with a two-goal win.

Carlson opened the scoring for Louisburg on an assist from sophomore Cade Gassman. Yows iced the game in the second half as he scored on a penalty kick.

“We took the game at them and controlled the pace of the game,” Conley said. “I felt we had the better of play and did a great job of taking advantage of when they gave us. I think we also changed our personnel a little bit and it helped us keep control of the game.

“The boys played with a ton of energy and won a majority of 50/50 balls. This group had a crazy two weeks of seven games in 13 days. That is a lot. We did a nice job to try to protect our boys by playing a lot of players in as many games as we could.”

Louisburg will have another pair of tough games this week as the Wildcats host Spring Hill on Tuesday in their Breast Cancer Awareness Game. They will then travel to Eudora on Thursday.

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