Wildcats record fourth straight shutout in win over Tonganoxie

Louisburg senior Reese Johnson scored a pair of goals and led the Wildcats to a 4-0 win over Tonganoxie on Thursday.

TONGANOXIE — Louisburg coach Kyle Conley doesn’t believe his Wildcat girls soccer team has played perfect at times this season, but the results say it has.

Tonganoxie was the latest Wildcat victim as Louisburg went on the road Thursday and blanked the Chieftains, 4-0, to record their fourth straight shutout to start the season.

It wasn’t easy, however, as Tonganoxie kept several players back in front of the goal to slow the Wildcat attack. Louisburg led just 1-0 at halftime.

“Tonganoxie showed us some things that we have not seen so far this season,” Conley said. “They played with 11 players behind the ball and made it difficult to break down. We did have 47 shots, but were only able to find the net four times. It was really good for us to see a game like that and for us to use it to get better. We are still pretty young so we need to always keep learning. We played really hard and moved the ball well, just struggled to finish on in the final third.”

The Wildcats (4-0) did keep the Tonganoxie defense busy with those 47 shots, but Louisburg was able to find some balance with three different goal scorers.

Senior midfielder Reese Johnson scored a pair of goals, including one with 10 minutes remaining in the first half to give the Wildcats their 1-0 lead.

Louisburg came out more focused in the second half and Johnson picked up right where she left off with another goal early in the second half to double the Wildcats’ lead.

Sophomore Lexi Hampton found the back of the net minutes later after she scored off a corner kick from teammate Lola Edwards. Senior Catie Lemke capped the scoring with a goal of her own to all but seal the win for Louisburg.

Freshman Rowan Yows led the Wildcats with five shots on goal to go along with an assist, while Edwards finished with four shots on target.

Senior goalie Sierra Hahn earned the clean sheet as her defense did the job by not allowing a shot on goal. Louisburg controlled possession the entire match.

Louisburg is back in action tonight as the Wildcats travel to Topeka West as they try for their fifth straight win. Then on Thursday, Louisburg will host one of the top teams in Class 5A, Spring Hill.

“As frustration sent in or could set it, the girls stayed positive and kept attacking,” Conley said. “We had so many chances. We absolutely dominated the game. Our team is still growing and learning and we have a tough test this Thursday against one of the best teams in 5A if not the best team, Spring Hill. We will working on cleaning up our defensive marking and our pressure cover throughout practice. The goal is to keep progressing and improving.”