Wildcats can’t snap losing skid on road at Baldwin

By Andy Brown
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Updated: October 1, 2018

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg’s Ethan Showalter blocks off a Baldwin defender to the ball Thursday during the Wildcats’ game at Baldwin High School. The Wildcats fell to the Bulldogs, 3-1.

BALDWIN CITY – The Louisburg boys soccer team was able to break one streak Thursday against Baldwin, but unfortunately the Wildcats couldn’t put an end to an even peskier one.

Louisburg scored its first goal in three matches right before halftime of its game at Baldwin High School and sent the Wildcats into halftime knotted up at 1-all.

However, Baldwin answered with two second half goals and the Wildcats weren’t able to respond in a 3-1 defeat. It was the fifth straight loss for Louisburg as it has tried to break out of its slump since Sept. 13, after falling to Spring Hill.

“I thought we played well at Baldwin,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “The score did not show how close the game really was. We had more dangerous chances than they did, but we had two bad mistakes that led to goals. It’s unfortunate, but I thought we played much better and have been playing better. The scores have not shown that, but the boys are figuring it out and piecing it together.”

The Wildcats (4-6) found themselves down early in the match after a Baldwin goal, but with three minutes left in the first half, senior Brock Bila attacked the goal and got a shot past the Bulldog goalie to tie it.

It didn’t take long for Baldwin to take back control as it scored the go-ahead goal five minutes into the second half and then again with 19 minutes left in the match.

Louisburg goalie Garrett Rolofson bends down to make save Thursday in Baldwin.

Injuries also hampered the Wildcats as they were missing a few varsity contributors and forced some younger players to step in and fill those roles. Still, the Wildcats had their opportunities on goal, but weren’t able to finish.

On Tuesday, it was much of the same for Louisburg as it wasn’t able to find the back of the net and lost a tough 1-0 match on the road at Tonganoxie. The Chieftains converted a penalty kick with 17 minutes remaining to come out on top.

Despite the recent struggles, Conley is impressed with how his team has improved throughout the year after having just six players with varsity experiencing entering the season, and also dealing with injuries.

Louisburg will try to get back on track this Tuesday when it hosts Spring Hill at the Wildcat Sports Complex. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m.