Wildcat girls soccer hoping for fifth consecutive state final four bid

Louisburg is hoping for plenty more celebrations like this one as the Wildcats will try for their fifth straight state final four appearance.

It was another season and another state tournament appearance for the Louisburg girls soccer team last year.

The Wildcats, a team-filled with underclassmen, finished fourth at state after qualifying for the fourth consecutive season. 

As fun as last year’s run was for the Wildcats, they are ready to make it even better as many of those same underclassmen return for another shot at a state title this season.

“Last year was a special group, especially replacing so much from 2020,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “This year we have to replace some quality players from the 2020 team, but the core is back. I’m excited to see what this group can do. The majority of our team is young, but this is a dynamic group.”

Louisburg finished last season with a 12-8-1 record, including a pair of 2-1 loss to Mulvane in the state semifinals and McPherson in the third place match.

The Wildcats have set higher goals for themselves, including competing for a Frontier League title, win their fifth straight regional crown and return to the state final four.

The players have a good chance to do that as they return nine players that found themselves in the starting lineup at one point or another in 2021.

“There will be a lot of freshmen and sophomores starting, but we have some solid juniors and seniors starting,” Conley said. “Experience will be our biggest challenge, but we will do the best we can to put them in various situations at practice to learn as much as we can and as fast as we can.”

Louisburg returns a lot of experience on the attacking side of the ball and are led by senior midfielder Reese Johnson, who was a second team all-league player a year ago. She finished the year with nine assists and seven goals.

Also returning are sophomores Lola Edwards (forward/midfield) and Lexi Hampton (forward). Both players were honorable mention all-league selections a year ago.

Hampton led the Wildcats with 16 goals on the season, while Edwards had 15 goals and six assists.

Junior Adyson Ross was also a fixture in the midfield last year as the all-league honorable mention player had two goals and two assists.

“I think we are a really talented attacking team,” Conley said. “We will look to create as much as we can to put teams under pressure. Specifically, I feel our midfield is really talented and will be a lot of fun to watch as they grow as a group throughout the season. We are pretty young and look for this team to grow each and every game.”

Junior Tehya Harvey, along with freshman Rowan Yows, will also see time atop the Wildcat attack at the forward spot.

In the midfield, junior Bree Gassman, senior Catie Lemke and freshman Jaden Bentz will all see varsity time as well.

On defense, senior Ruth Minster and sophomore Hailey Sword return to lead that side of the ball as Sword was a second-team all-league player a year ago from her defensive midfield spot.

Junior Brianne Kuhlman will also return to help on the back line with senior Samantha McDaniel and freshman Evyn Richardson.

Senior goalie Sierra Hahn also returns after starting the season last year and Macy Lemke is also vying for playing time as well.

“Starters will be interesting,” Conley said. “We have a lot of competition on this team. Unlike last year, we have depth to challenge players to compete for positions. I think the best part about this team is the players ability to play multiple positions.”

Louisburg will kick its season off Tuesday at home as the Wildcats host Lansing for a 6:30 p.m. start. Junior varsity will begin at 5 p.m.