Harvey’s golden goal keeps Wildcats’ winning streak alive

Louisburg junior Tehya Harvey scored the golden goal with four seconds left in the second overtime Tuesday in Topeka and gave the Wildcats a 1-0 victory over Topeka West.

TOPEKA — It waited to almost the last possible second, but the Louisburg girls soccer team left Topeka with its winning streak intact.

In double overtime, Louisburg junior Tehya Harvey battled and scored the golden goal with four seconds remaining to give the Wildcats a 1-0 victory over Topeka West at Hummer Sports Park.

Louisburg has now won five consecutive matches to start the season and Harvey’s goal was the difference between that and seeing that streak end with a scoreless tie.

“Tehya’s goal was fantastic,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “It was a hustle and work ethic goal. Ball got played in, and she went and got it. She did not give up on the play and wanted it more than Topeka West did. Wish we would have done that a lot sooner, but, oh well, better late than never.”

Harvey’s goal was set up by sophomore midfielder Hailey Sword, who sent the ball into the box and found a running Harvey.

The Wildcats weren’t without their share of opportunities, however. Louisburg outshot Topeka West, 27-1, and 10 of those were on target.

Topeka West kept a lot of players back to protect the goal, which made scoring for the Wildcats more difficult.

“Topeka West did a very good job of staying organized defensively,” Conley said. “They put a lot of players in front of the goal, but when we had really good opportunities. We had countless chances in front of the goal but just could not get one to go. We did a nice job of controlling the tempo and how the game was played. We created a lot of opportunities but just could not find the net. 

“I liked how hard we played. I thought we did a nice job of taking advantage of what they gave us. We saw this against Tonganoxie, but we just did not adjust as well as I liked. It will be a focus at practice this week.”

Freshman Rowan Yows led the Wildcat attack with six shots on the night, while senior Reece Johnson and Sword each had five.

It was another shutout for the Wildcat defense and senior goalie Sierra Hahn earned the clean sheet for Louisburg. The Wildcats have yet to allow a goal through five matches.

However, the Wildcats will face their toughest test tonight when they host Spring Hill — one of the favorites to win the Frontier League. The match is set for 6 p.m. at the Wildcat Soccer Complex.