Wildcats blank Ottawa to snap losing streak

Louisburg sophomore Lexi Hampton splits two Ottawa defenders to go up for the ball Tuesday at Ottawa High School.

OTTAWA — Fresh off back-to-back losses, the Louisburg girls soccer team needed something positive to happen.

The Wildcats traveled to Ottawa on Tuesday and left with some of that positivity they were looking for.

Louisburg dominated possession on its way to a 3-0 victory over the Cyclones. Although they would have liked to tally a few more goals, the Wildcats were happy with the win.

“We did alright,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “To be fair, with as many shots as we had, we probably should have had about eight or nine goals. We didn’t capitalize on our breakaways, but the girls are learning. 

“We have two sophomores, a junior and a freshman that played up top today. We are young all over the field and we are seeing that a little bit, but we are still attacking and aggressive. We are pressing a little bit, but the girls are playing hard and that is good to see.”

The match was scoreless midway though the first half, but that all changed thanks to the foot of Louisburg junior Tehya Harvey.

Harvey scored the game’s first goal with 19 minutes remaining in the first half, and then again shortly before halftime to give the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage.

Early in the second half, the Wildcats struck again. Senior Reese Johnson pushed the ball down the right side and crossed it into the box and found sophomore Lexi Hampton, who tapped it in for Louisburg’s third goal.

Although it took a little while for the Wildcats to get going, Conley was pleased with his team despite all the different defenses getting thrown at them throughout the season.

“I think we are getting used to how different teams are playing us or running at us,” Conley said. “Are they going to play with five or four in the back? Are they going to play 30 yards behind their midfield like Ottawa did? These learning experiences are big for us to sort out. A lot of these girls don’t play year-round and are just learning on the fly.”

Defensively, the Wildcats limited Ottawa’s chances and allowed goalies Sierra Hahn and Macy Lemke to earn the clean sheet.

Ottawa was the first of four games in seven days for the Wildcats as they enter a grueling part of their schedule. Louisburg will host Eudora tonight in the second game of that stretch.

“Four games in seven days is just ridiculous,” Conley said. “Now we are just focused on Eudora, recover quick and play Lansing on Friday. Then we turn around and get a very good Basehor team on Monday. It is a crazy week, and to be quite honest, we played a lot of kids (Tuesday) because we need to get as much fresh legs as possible. This week should be fun though and I’m looking forward to seeing how the girls will do.”