Wildcats blank Lansing to win season opener

Louisburg sophomore Lexi Hampton (8) and the Wildcats were all smiles Tuesday as they shutout Lansing, 5-0, to win their season opener. Hampton finished the game with a team-high three goals.

As much as the cold and rain dampened its season opener, the Louisburg girls soccer team made the most of a bad situation.

The Wildcats got their season started off right with a 5-0 shutout of Lansing on Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium – a game that had to be moved to Louisburg from Lansing due to field conditions.

“It was good to finally get a game in,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “The girls were ready to play. I think we came out a little too amped up. We were not playing our game and struggled to play simple. We were trying to do too much and made things harder on ourselves. The second half we settled in and played really well. We controlled the pace of the game and we were really aggressive.”

Sophomore forward Lexi Hampton was a spark in the first half as she recorded a hat trick in the first 40 minutes to help give the Wildcats a 3-0 halftime lead.

Louisburg (1-0) dominated possession and outshout Lansing 27-5 and 14 of those shots were on target. Hampton finished the game with six shots on goal.

Sophomore Lola Edwards, senior Reese Johnson and freshman Rowan Yows were also active on the attack. Edwards took six shots and Yows had five.

Johnson facilitated the offense for the Wildcats as she had a team-high two assists, one goal and had two shots on target.

Despite the weather, Conley liked what he saw from his time for the first time out.

“The conditions were brutal, but the girls were prepared for it,” Conley said. “We have been practicing outside everyday. The girls were mentally sharp, and did a nice job focusing on the task at hand. I feel this group is pretty mentally tough.”

Johnson opened the second half with goal and sophomore Hailey Sword sealed the win with a goal just a few moments later. Yows also earned an assist during the game.

Goalies Sierra Hahn and Macy Lemke each played a half to record the clean sheet.

“Our team progressed a lot throughout the game,” Conley said. “There is only so much we can get done in limited practice time, but the girls grew and progressed well though out the game. I loved our willingness to learn. They are a great group of young ladies and I thought we did well against a much improved Lansing squad.”

Louisburg will try for back-to-back wins Friday when it travels to Atchison. Varsity will begin at 4:30 p.m. and junior varsity will follow.