Wildcats outlast Lansing to get overtime win in opener

By Andy Brown
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Updated: March 21, 2024

LANSING — As the clock hit zero at the end of regulation, neither Louisburg or Lansing knew who had won.

The Wildcats were up a goal as the buzzer sounded, but Lansing found the back of the net on a wild play that appeared to have bounced off the hand of a Lion player before the shot.

The officials conferred and allowed the goal, which forced overtime. Instead of letting frustration take over, the Wildcats put it to good use.

Sophomore Mena Fercho scored the game-winning goal six minutes into the extra period and gave Louisburg a big 2-1 victory over Lansing on Tuesday in its season opener.

“This was definitely a good win for us,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “We focused on mental toughness in the offseason and it was good to see us refocus and not let a call, or a goal get us down. The girls did a good job of moving on and really thought we did a lot of good things.”

Louisburg took an early one goal lead in the first half on a goal from senior Lexi Hampton and the Wildcats held that lead all the way to the final seconds of the second half.

It was there where Lansing pushed the ball up the field, and after a strong save from goalie Macy Lemke, a deflection went to a Lansing player near the net and scored as time expired.

It was a war of attrition for both teams as they had to deal with a fast-paced match, but it was one the Wildcats were prepared for.

“Both teams had players that were dropping like flies,” York said. “Last 10 minutes of the second half, there were players from both teams who had to leave with cramps. We didn’t sub a whole lot, but we did a ton of extra conditioning to make ourselves ready. The conditioning really helped us out and we were the stronger team later in the game.”

Fercho won the game for the Wildcats as she dribbled into the box, battled through two Lansing defenders, then dribbled the ball past the goalie for the open net opportunity.

“Mena did a great job to stay with it and was great to see her come through there,” York said. “It was good to see the girls refocus in the overtime and they played well.

“We shouldn’t have put the game in the hands of the referee, and I think we know that. We could have done things where we weren’t in that position, but we had the chance to put the game away before then in regulation and we just didn’t. Good learning experience for sure.”