Wildcats shutout Lansing to complete busy week

Louisburg junior Gavin York gets on the ground to try and take the ball away from a Lansing player Monday at Lansing High School.

LANSING — It was the end of what was a grueling week for the Louisburg boys soccer team.

Monday’s game at Lansing was the fourth game in seven days for the Wildcats — all of which were against Class 5A or 6A schools. The Wildcats finished the stretch with two wins, a tie and a loss.

One of those wins came against Lansing as the Wildcats took control of the game from the start, and thanks to two penalty kicks, were able to cruise to a 3-0 victory over the Lions.

“To be honest in those four games, not one of them were light and they were all physical,” Conley said. “They are battles against bigger schools.

“I thought we held our own against Lansing. In the first half we kind of struggled with marks little bit, but once we sorted that out, we had the better of play the rest of the way.”

The Wildcats got on the board early as senior Braden Yows scored on a penalty kick in the first half and they took that 1-0 lead into halftime. 

Yows once again put the pressure on the Lion defense as he dribbled into the box midway through the second half and was fouled. The Louisburg midfielder was injured on the play and didn’t return.

Junior Cade Gassman converted the penalty kick and put the Wildcats up, 2-0. A few minutes later, junior Brock Varns scored his first varsity goal to put Louisburg up 3-0 and all but sealed the win.

“It really does help with confidence to be able to get two goals on penalty kicks, but I would rather take those away than have to take the hits we had to take,” Conley said. “It just means that we were attacking. They came in strong with some big fouls and we capitalized on both.”

Defensively, the Wildcat back line of Michael Seuferling, Matthew Sword, Toby Espina-Roca  and Aidan Cannon held the Lions to just four shots. Junior goalie Mack Newell earned the clean sheet.

“Defensively we did great,” Conley said. “We didn’t give them anything dangerous. They may have had four or five shots, but none of them challenged us too much. We followed the game plan and the boys followed their assignments. We did a good job of staying tight with our marks and matching the physicality of the game.”

In what was as tough week for the Wildcats, Conley was pleased with what he saw from his team against bigger programs.

“It is a ton of heart,” Conley said. “You are playing all big schools against strong, physical dudes. I think our guys responded well and never made excuses. They kept battling. It was a heartbreaker against Gardner, and then to rebound against a physical Lansing team, was positive. They played for each other and that is all you can ask for.”

Louisburg loses league match to Spring Hill

Just a few days following its win over Lansing, Louisburg hosted Spring Hill in a Frontier League match that featured two of the top teams in the league.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it just wasn’t their night.

Spring Hill scored first on a penalty kick in the first 10 minutes of the match and then scored again on a cross late in the first half. Going up against another 5A program, the Wildcats fell, 3-1.

“Overall we struggled to execute,” Conley said. “We dominated the first nine minutes having two really good looks on goal, but then gave up a penalty kick. When they scored off of it, it was like the game was over. Our body language was poor and the boys just forgot our game plan and did not execute very well at all. 

“We had three really good chances throughout the game with our player and their goalkeeper,  but we were unable to even get a shot on goal. We did not execute the way we usually do and unfortunately it can back to bite us.”

The Wildcats scored right before halftime when a Braden Yows throw in found its way into the goal and cut the Bronco lead in half.

Chances were few and far between in the second half for Louisburg, and Spring Hill sealed a win with a goal in the final 10 minutes.

“We led every category, except the scoreboard,” Conley said. “We just needed to play our game and we looked really flat after the penalty kick. Last night, we did not mark well in the back, the midfielders struggled to find feet with connecting passes and our forwards are not producing. 

“To be completely honest, it was the worst game we have played in the last three years. This team is better than this and we will respond. We will be ready to play Monday.”

Louisburg will try and get back on track Monday when it travels to Baldwin for a league match. Varsity will begin play at 4 p.m.