Wildcats win fourth straight in league opener at Bonner Springs

By Andy Brown
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: September 16, 2024

***Louisburg junior Owen Marsh scored one of the Wildcats’ two goals Thursday in a win at Bonner Springs.***

BONNER SPRINGS — The last time Louisburg and Bonner Springs faced off on the pitch in 2023, Bonner Springs stole a victory away from the Wildcats in overtime.

Louisburg wasn’t going to let that happen this time around.

The Wildcats scored two second half goals and earned a 2-1 victory over the Braves in their Frontier League opener at Bonner Springs High School.

“Kicking off our league play with a win is a pretty nice feeling, especially since we’ve been struggling the last few years,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Frontier League soccer is pretty tough though. We took Bonner into overtime last year and ended up losing on an own goal, so this was a game that the guys really wanted to win.”

It also marked the fourth consecutive victory for the Wildcats to start the season as they have already equaled last year’s win total.

Louisburg has already shown they are an improved team after a rough 2023 season and it’s is something they hope to continue moving forward.

“There’s always the danger in getting overconfident, but we’re playing with a confidence that was missing last year,” Bovaird said. “It was a tough season, and definitely an anomaly for Louisburg soccer. There were a handful of games that we lost by one goal last season — games that I felt we could have won.

“This year, we’re in the position to come out on top with those close games, which the guys have shown in our first four games. It’s a confidence that comes from experience, maturity, and a desire to prove themselves to the rest of the state.”

It was an evenly-played match throughout and Bonner Springs outshot the Wildcats 13-10, but it remained scoreless after one half of action.

That changed midway through the second half as senior Colton Blue gave the Wildcats the lead with a goal on an assist from Emmett White. Blue finished the night with three shots on target.

Louisburg added on another goal a few minutes later as junior Owen Marsh scored on an assist from Caleb Feldkamp to put the Wildcats up, 2-0. Feldkamp, Grant Cannon and White also had a shot on target.

Bonner Springs added a goal in the final few minutes, but the Wildcats were able to hang on and stay perfect on the season.

“Coach (Nick) White and I gave a pretty sincere talk to them at halftime,” Bovaird said. “Basically, we stressed that they looked like they were flat on their feet, playing tense, and out of their comfort zones. We reminded them of back in the day when we played soccer and had fun with it. That was the challenge we gave them — get back in that mindset and play for the fun of it, play relaxed, and play smart.

“I gave them a challenge before the game — have our time of possession above 30 minutes, get at least 8 strings of six or more passes, post a defensive shut-out, and have the majority of our attacks from from what we’ve been drilling all last week. First half, it wasn’t looking too likely that we’d hit those goals. With the second half, though, we came pretty close. We got the pass strings and nearly had the time of possession. Although we gave up a goal, we did very well with our attacks.”

The Wildcat defense held firm for much of the match as junior goalie Evan Moreland had four saves on the night and almost had the clean sheet.