Wildcats blister nets for 17 goals in wins over Pittsburg, Paola

Louisburg senior Hunter Rogers heads the ball for one of the Wildcats’ eight goals last Tuesday at home against Pittsburg.

The Louisburg boys soccer team has blistered the nets to start its season.

Louisburg opened its schedule last Tuesday at home against Pittsburg and then followed it up with a 9-0 road win Thursday at Paola.

In all, the Wildcats accounted for 17 goals in the two matches as they have cruised to a perfect start to their year.

It began with Pittsburg, and despite a taking a while to get going, the Wildcats peppered the net with eight goals and came away with an 8-0 victory over the Purple Dragons.

“As a coach you are always nervous if you have your team prepared, but I felt we did a really nice job of coming out ready to go from the start,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “We were able to work on a few things throughout the game and we got better as the game went on. It was a nice performance for us and I thought the boys played really well. 

“We need to work on our execution a little bit. We had 50-plus shots, but struggled to find the net. I do think Pittsburg did a nice job of getting bodies in front and blocking a lot of shots. Our build up was really nice and the boys did a nice job.”

The Wildcats were scoreless in the first 20 minutes before the flood gates opened.

Junior Gavin York scored the season’s first goal as he headed the ball off a corner kick, past the Pittsburg goalie to give the Wildcats the lead.

Colin McManigal followed it up with a goal off a rebound to double the advantage with nine minutes left in the first half.

Louisburg would get four goals in the final nine minutes as junior Cade Gassman scored on back-to-back chances, then senior Braden Yows added another before halftime to make it 5-0.

Yows opened the second half with his second goal of the match and senior Hunter Rogers followed with a goal off a header to make it 7-0. McManigal sealed the win as he found the back of the net on an assist from freshman Emmett White.

“It was nice to see everyone get involved,” Conley said. “We were playing really well and moving the ball well. The boys were on the same page and did a nice job of doing their jobs. We do have some things to clean up, but the boys played hard and came ready to go. We had five different goal scorers and different guys get assists. We did have a lot more opportunities, but struggled to finish.”

Sophomore Austin Jamison led the Wildcats with two assists, while Yows and Gassman each had one as well.

The Wildcats had 51 shots on the night and dominated possession from the start.

Louisburg’s defense was able to turn away the eight Pittsburg shots and junior goalie Mack Newell earned the clean sheet.

Against Paola, the Wildcats were without Newell in goal, but Louisburg continued its hot start and controlled possession against Panthers.

The Wildcats scored five first half goals on their way to a 9-0 victory and had eight different players record goals.

Junior Ethan Ptacek had a big night as he finished with two goals and an assist. Yows had three assists to lead Louisburg, while Gassman and Toby Espina-Roca had two and one, respectively.

White, Yows, Jamison, McManigal, Rogers, York and Gassman also found the back of the net for Louisburg.

Junior goalie Jackson Olson got the clean sheet.

“I thought the boys played really well,” Conley said. “It was great to see so many different people score goals and be involved. We eight different goal scorers and seven assists on those nine goals. We really worked hard and moved the ball. We dominated possession and the boys were able to work on a few things. 

“I liked our speed of play and how well we moved the ball.  It was nice to see the boys play for each other and really battle. It was also great to be able to play a lot of guys and get some experience. It was a great team win.”

Louisburg’s schedule will get a little tougher as the Wildcats have three games this week, including a pair of road matches against two Class 5A programs in Basehor-Linwood and Bonner Springs. They will end it with a rare Saturday afternoon match against Class 6A Gardner-Edgerton.

The Wildcats travel to Basehor-Linwood for a 6 p.m. start tonight.