Wildcats hold on in physical match with Bonner Springs

By Andy Brown
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Updated: May 11, 2021

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Freshman Lola Edwards settles a pass during Thursday’s home match against Bonner Springs.

With a three goal lead in the second half, and the match seemingly in hand, the Louisburg girls soccer team had to deal with a more exciting ending than what it had anticipated.

Bonner Springs scored two goals to make it a one score game and the Wildcats found themselves in a battle, both physically and mentally.

Tensions got elevated, and in what was a physical match, the Wildcats were able to hold on for a 4-3 victory Thursday over Bonner Springs.

“We just literally went round of round with each other,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “It felt like a 12-round boxing match out there. Kids were getting taken out late. We made our fair share of fouls too, but when you see that and nothing gets called it is kind of frustrating. You are dealing with injuries, long stoppages in play and it was tough.

“It was tough to keep your composure. You are up 4-1, then they get two and then all of a sudden we are playing not to lose. We struggled a little bit to find feet and keep it simple. I am really proud of the girls for playing hard and keeping their heads and not retaliating. They played really hard. We are banged up, and this game definitely didn’t help that. We need to get healed up and get back after it.”

Freshman Lexi Hampton opened the game with a goal early in the first half, but Bonner Springs countered with one late to tie it at halftime.

The Wildcats (9-5) seemed like a different team early in the second half as they answered with two goals in the first minute of play. Junior Reese Johnson and Hampton both found the back of the net to put Louisburg up 3-1.

Senior Olivia Barber was a big factor in those goals as she finished with a game-high three assists and was a force in the midfield.

Freshman Lola Edwards made it a 4-1 lead a few minutes later after she scored off a rebound. The game was seemingly in hand.

***Sophomore Adyson Ross pushes the ball up the field Thursday against Bonner Springs.***

“I had a nice little discussion with the girls at halftime,” Conley said. “Then we came out and played exactly how we were asking them to do the whole time. It was frustrating that we didn’t start that way. We had a lot of chances throughout and we just didn’t finish them. We were able to let (Bonner) stick around a little bit.”

Bonner Springs answered with a goal midway through the second half, but it came at a cost for Louisburg.

Wildcat goalie Sierra Hahn suffered an injury while going in for a save and had to leave the contest. Her departure took away some of the momentum they developed.

“Any time anyone comes off the field and they are in a lot of pain, your thought goes to your teammate,” Conley said. “It is hard to stay focused because you are so worried about your teammate. We came out really flat after that and struggled because there are bigger things than soccer.”

***Senior Kennady Wilkerson sends the ball away from the Bonner Springs attack in the Wildcats’ 4-3 win.***

Goalie Macy Lemke came on to replace Hahn, and despite a goal after her departure, Lemke made a couple saves and the Wildcat defense was able to hold on to preserve the win.

Louisburg will try and make it two wins in a row today when it travels to Ottawa.

Wildcats lose close match to Basehor-Linwood

On May 3, the Wildcats traveled to Basehor-Linwood and played the tough Class 5A program close, but left with a 2-1 loss.

Louisburg was down 1-0 at halftime, but freshman Lexi Hampton tied it up on an assist from Reese Johnson.

Basehor-Linwood would answer midway through the second half on what would be the game-deciding goal.

“We played great at Basehor,” Conley said. “We played high energy. We had three breakaways in the first half, but we just couldn’t get one to go. They have one really good player, and Hailey Sword basically just took her out of the game. She played unbelievable and played all 80 minutes for us.

“The defense played great as well and the defensive mids played great. They all just played really hard and played simple. It was a back and forth game and we were able to take away a lot of their intermediate chances. Sierra played really well and we just couldn’t get one there at the end.”

Goalie Sierra Hahn led the Louisburg defense with 21 saves. Lola Edwards and Olivia Barber each had two shots on goal, while Tehya Harvey, Adyson Ross, Hampton and Johnson each had one.