Wildcats bounce back with shutout of Eudora

Louisburg junior Morgan Messer pulls back on the ball to beat a Eudora defender Tuesday during the Wildcats’ 7-0 victory over the Cardinals.

Coming off its first loss of the season, the Louisburg girls soccer team made sure it didn’t turn into two Tuesday when the Wildcats hosted Eudora.

Louisburg had four different players score and the Wildcats took care of business in a 7-0 win over the Cardinals. Despite being up just one goal at halftime, Louisburg dominated the second half as it scored six times and recorded its fifth shutout in six games.

“I though the girls played well,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “The first half was a little rough because we weren’t executing or getting things done. The second half they started executing and doing what we asked them to do. They played the ball, had some give-and-go’s and played off each other.

“They were struggling a little early because we had nine kids gone the last few days and it was a little tough to get things done at practice. The second half, they executed and figured out what I was asking them to do and they looked pretty good.”

Junior Mackenzie Scholtz got things started for the Wildcats with a goal midway through the first half and the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, the flood gates opened for Louisburg as it dominated possession.

Scholtz, who finished the match with a hat trick, scored shortly after halftime and then assisted on the Wildcats’ next goal when junior Erin Lemke found the back of the net.

The combination of Scholtz and Lemke struck again. Midway through the second half, Scholtz took a shot on goal, which was knocked out by the Eudora goalie, but Lemke was there for the rebound near the net and put it away for a 4-0 advantage.

A few minutes later, Scholtz completed her hat trick thanks to an assist from junior Morgan Messer. Junior Trinity Moore followed with a goal of her own late in the second half.

With under a minute left, the Wildcats sealed the win as senior Hallie Hutsell scored her first goal of the season and the celebration was on.

“For Hallie, we just played the ball down the middle and she was able to just beat the girl and it worked out pretty well,” Conley said. “Hallie hasn’t had one for a while, so that was a good to see her get one there.”

Eudora didn’t have many chances of its own as the Louisburg defense turned away whatever runs the Cardinals tried to make. It was also the fifth shutout for Wildcat goalie Carson Buffington on the season.

The large second half lead allowed Conley to move players around to different positions and give his bench players more varsity time – something he has been able to do in several matches this year.

It is something that he hopes pays off in the long run on both levels of the team.

“I think we were able to get 20 kids into the game and that is great,” Conley said. “We are able to get kids in and getting them used to being out there and what to expect. I think it also helps them on the junior varsity level because the game is faster up here. I hope it pays dividends because you never know what injuries we might have later in the year. We are just trying to put kids into different spots and see what they can do.”

Louisburg (5-1) will face a tough road test today when the Wildcats travel to Piper for a 6 p.m. match. The Pirates are 7-1 on the season and Conley knows his team is going to have to be ready to play.

“They have a new coach so it is going to be vastly different from last year,” Conley said. “They are very talented up top and on the outside and we are going to have to deal with that. I think it is going be a really good game. They have a really talented centerback and a solid goalkeeper, so it will be another dogfight. It should be another great game and hopefully we will be ready to go.”

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