Wildcats drop first two games of season to Lansing, Eudora

By Andy Brown
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Updated: September 24, 2024

***Louisburg defender Mika McKitrick passes the ball out of the back during last Tuesday’s home game against Lansing.***

Heading into last week’s slate of games, the Louisburg boys soccer team couldn’t have asked for a better start to its season.

The Wildcats were winners of four straight matches going into their games with Lansing and Eudora. Unfortunately, last week was a little bit of a speed bump.

Louisburg lost its first games of the season in a 3-1 loss to Lansing on Sept. 17, and then went on the road and suffered a 3-0 defeat to Eudora last Thursday.

Injuries, among other things, hampered the Wildcats in their quest to continue their winning streak.

“After we won that fourth game, we were pretty banged up,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Emmett (White) has a high ankle sprain that he’s bouncing back from, and Colton also tweaked his ankle. By the time we got to Thursday’s game at Eudora, we had quite a few guys who weren’t even close to 100 percent, but that’s how things go.

“We’ve got to step out there and put our best teams on the field. If we have starters, seniors, or regular varsity players who are out, then we have to have a ‘next man up’ attitude. That’s what I’m most proud of with our guys — the younger players are itching to step up and do their part on the varsity field.”

The Wildcats (4-2) hosted Lansing in hopes of winning its fifth straight and they got off to a good start.

Junior Owen Marsh was fouled in the box in the first half, which gave the Wildcats a penalty kick. Senior Emmett White put the attempt away and Louisburg took the early lead.

***Louisburg’s Ryder Erickson passes to a teammate during last week’s home match against Lansing.***

Lansing tied it up later in the half and it remained at 1-1 at halftime. The Lions responded with two second half goals and the Wildcats were unable to rally.

White led the Wildcats with two shots on goal for the match, while Cody Courtney, Jacob Brown and Colton Blue each had one.

Against Eudora, the Wildcats went into the Frontier League match a little banged up and the Cardinals took advantage.

The game was scoreless until Eudora scored on a header with 6 minutes left in the first half and the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead. They tacked on two more goals in the second and the Wildcats couldn’t get much going offensively.

Eudora took 34 shots on the night, compared to just five for Louisburg. Sophomore Brody Bovaird had the lone shot on target for the Wildcats.

Junior goalie Evan Moreland was busy as he had six saves on the night, including 12 blocked shots.

“There’s been several bits of adversity the last week and a half,” coach Bovaird said. “We’ve got health issues, and last week saw the return of some higher temperatures. On top of that, we weren’t exactly in a friendly environment at Eudora on Thursday. Lots of things popped up that could have completely derailed us in either game. But they kept focused and battled through it all.”