Louisburg bounces back to rout Wyandotte

Louisburg senior defender Rylee Bergh (left) kicks the ball away from a Spring Hill player and out of the box while goalie Shay Whiting and defender Georgia Wilde (right) look on Thursday in Spring Hill. On Monday, the Wildcats defeated Wyandotte 6-1 and fell to Spring Hill 3-2 on Thursday.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Coming off a tough loss against a ranked team in Spring Hill last week, the Louisburg girls soccer team needed a little pick-me-up.

The Wildcats got that Monday.

Louisburg traveled to Wyandotte for its second straight road contest and left with an easy 6-1 victory at Wyandotte High School. The Lady Cats scored four goals in the first half and never looked back.

“The girls were a little lackadaisical to start the game and that is to be expected after the Spring Hill game and prom weekend,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “We were waiting on the ball and slightly passive for the first 20 minutes or so.

“I feel even though that we only scored two goals in the second half that we played much better. We controlled the pace of play and played much better soccer. We played to feet and changed the attack regularly. We tried to use the game to work on some things and improve our formation and build up.”

Sophomore Bailey Belcher made things difficult for the Wyandotte defense as she finished up with the best offensive performance in the team’s short history. Belcher had a hat trick before halftime and ended up with four of the Wildcats’ six goals.

“Bailey played very aggressive with the ball,” Conley said. “She was very motivated and played at a high level. It almost seemed like they were defending our other midfielders and choose to give her space.

“Bailey is improving each day and still learning the game. You can see she is starting to put it together and it is reflecting in her play. She took advantage of what the other team gave her.”

Along with Belcher’s three goals in the first half, Louisburg senior Maddie McDaniel added to the scoring effort when she put a shot away off an assist from sophomore Savannah Reinhart.

The Wildcats (6-2-1) added to their lead in the second half with another goal from Belcher and one from junior Lily Cook.

Louisburg also got a good effort from its back line as it limited Wyandotte’s chances on goal. Also, the Wildcats have several players out with injury and Conley used more of his bench and younger players to help out.

“I was very pleased on how the underclassman played,” Conley said. “They did a nice job filling in and playing a very nice game. I was also very pleased with how we defended. Those six girls in the back play their tails off and are doing well to improve their chemistry each and every night out.”

The junior varsity also improved their record to 6-1-1 on the season with a 3-0 victory. Louisburg picked up two goals from Quincy Rice and another by Reinhart. Goalie Sarah Wilson recorded the shutout.

The Wildcats return to action Friday when they host Basehor-Linwood. The varsity is set to begin at 4 p.m., with the junior varsity to follow.

Louisburg rally comes up short against Spring Hill

Down three goals at halftime to the No. 5 ranked team in Class 4A, Louisburg faced an uphill battle on the road Thursday against Spring Hill.

Instead of hanging their heads at halftime, the Wildcats put together a comeback to cut Spring Hill’s lead. Although the rally came up short in Lousburg’s 3-2 loss, it gave the Wildcats confidence moving forward.

“The first half was a little disappointing, but I think the second half showed our true grit and what this team was made of,” Conley said. “They battled back when it would have been very easy to give up or go through the motions. I was proud of our effort and fight in the second half. We are a team that is going to be resilient and battle regardless the situation.”

Louisburg’s Madisen Simpson (right) tries to fight off a Spring Hill player to win a 50-50 ball Thursday.

Spring Hill forward Mikayla Smith made it tough on the Wildcat defense early. Smith, who has signed to play soccer at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, recorded a hat trick in the first half to help give the Broncos a 3-0 lead.

The Wildcat defense buckled down in the second half and limited Spring Hill’s shots on goal. Senior Rylee Bergh led the Louisburg defense as she helped mark Smith with the help of Georgia Wilde, Camdyn Clark, Bryn O’Meara and Kaitlyn Lewer, while goalie Shay Whiting had five diving saves in the second half to keep the game close.

“Defensively, it was a game of two halves,” Conley said. “I was pleased with the limited opportunities they had in the first half but not how we over played Smith. In the second half, I was proud of how our team played more aggressive in the midfield which allowed our back four to be a little more isolated but they held up very well. Rylee, Cammie, Georgia, Kaitlyn and Bryn played very well.

“They had better scoring chances in the second half, but that was because of the limited help because we were pushing a lot of girls forward in the attack. Shay did a nice job of making some very nice reaction saves. She also did a nice job of making sure she got her hands to the ball and be as big as she can to take away as much of the goal as she can.”

With 33 minutes left in the contest, senior Maddie McDaniel hit a shot from just outside the box that sailed just over the reach of the Spring Hill goalie to give Louisburg its first goal.

The Wildcats would have plenty of other chances as they had shots on goal from Savannah Reinhart and Bailey Belcher to keep the pressure on.

Clark helped cut into Spring Hill’s lead with 14 minutes left as she headed a corner kick from McDaniel into the goal to make it a 3-2 deficit, but the Wildcats could get no closer.

“I think it showed the girls that they can play with anyone, but also shows the importance of coming ready to play,” Conley said. “It was a wild game that was back and forth and changing the formation slightly helped us become more offensive. I think a game like this greatly helps our confidence and showing us that we can play with anyone, but we need to come ready to play at the first whistle.

“The game was awesome. As a coach you could not be more impressed with our effort and never-say-die attitude. I was incredibly proud of every girl in their effort, attitude and belief in one another.”

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