The task was a difficult one last Tuesday for the Louisburg girls soccer team.

The Wildcats hosted Bishop Miege — the 7-time defending state champion — for the Class 4-1A state quarterfinals at Wildcat Stadium. Going up against one of the state’s best teams was always going to be a challenge.

Louisburg saw its season come to a close one win shy of the state final four with a 7-0 setback to Miege.

“They are on a different level than us,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “We don’t have the athletes to really compete with them. It doesn’t really matter what formations you use, or what field you play on, you try to hope that they don’t have a good game and they just played really well. They took advantage of opportunities and really crashed well in the box and we are still learning how to play fast like that. 

“We aren’t forced to play that fast during the season, and then you play a team that seems like they bring like 15 kids off the bench who are just as good. We are a good match for most of the 4A schools, we just aren’t a match against them and that is unfortunate, but it is reality.”

The Stags jumped on the Wildcats early as they scored the go-ahead goal just minutes into the contest and recorded five first half goals to go up 5-0 at halftime.

Miege added a pair of goals in the second half to seal the victory. The Stags went on to win their 8th straight championship later in the week with a double overtime win over Cair Paravel out of Topeka.

Although the loss was a difficult one to take, the Wildcats still put together a memorable season that saw their first regional title since 2021 and ended their season with a 13-5-1 record.

“This is a culmination of two years of hard work,” York said. “I think last year we spent getting over the mental side of things we didn’t do well, which was physical and mental toughness. This year we cleaned that up a lot and that is a big tribute to the senior class and putting in a lot of work. I hate this is the last thing we think about in what was a special season. This is not a reflection of our season at all. Our seniors put four hard years into this program.”

The Wildcats had to say goodbye to a 7-member senior class, several of which have played big parts in the program since their freshman seasons. Lola Edwards, Lexi Hampton, Hailey Sword, Macy Lemke, Ellery Allen, Aliya Klugman and A.J. Fire all played their final game for Louisburg.

“The preparation that we had this year was good and I thought we made good progress throughout the year as well,” York said. “We are still a work in progress and then we lose a group of great seniors. We make our way into the next season trying to get better at the things we didn’t do well (against Miege) and hopefully that will carry with us and the junior class can then see what we need to do.

“I hate that the last thought of the season is this, when our season was so much more than just one game. That for me is the shame of it all. Could we have played better than we did? Probably, and we gave up things that we shouldn’t have and gave them a few runs. We will just keep doing the best we can to keep moving forward.”

For the last two seasons, the Louisburg girls soccer team has seen heartbreak in the Class 4-1A regional championship.

Losses to Topeka-Hayden and Bishop Miege have prevented the Wildcats from that regional title, with their last coming in 2021. 

It is elusive no more.

The No. 1 seeded Wildcats shutout No. 8 Maranatha Academy, 2-0, to win the Class 4-1A regional title Thursday at Wildcat Stadium. It was a dominating effort from start to finish as the Wildcats improved their record to 13-4-1 on the season.

“This was a preseason goal of ours,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “We fell short last year and we wanted to do as much as we could in the regular season to control our own destiny. The girls put a lot of work in and were focused to get to this game and get a win. They definitely earned this one and it was good to see them enjoy it.”

The Wildcats dominated possession from the opening whistle as they peppered the Maranatha defense with 22 shots on goal, with 12 of those coming in the first half.

Junior Baileigh Johnson got the Wildcats on the board late in the first half as she scored on an assist from freshman Ellia Gibbons and Louisburg took a 1-0 lead at halftime.

The Wildcats built themselves a little cushion in the second half as senior Lexi Hampton found the back of the net on an assist thanks to junior Rowan Yows.

“It was odd because on paper we controlled the game with probably 70-75 percent possession,” York said. “We just sometimes have problems figuring out how to score. We have good opportunities, we just need to be a little more refined. I mean we had several go off the post or others were just wide. We knew Maranatha wasn’t going to score on us, so it was good stay patient and work the ball around to get good looks.”

Defensively, the Wildcats limited Maranatha’s chances as senior goalie Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet with two saves. The back line of Hailey Sword, Jaden Bentz, Lila Edwards and Faith Sewell turned away any kind of attack as well.

“We have one of the more talented defensive groups we have had in a long time,” York said. “We let in the least amount of regular season goals, I think, as we have given up just 14 goals in 16 games coming in. We aren’t scoring in big lumps as we have in the past. I think we scored 21 more goals last year, but we had more wins this year, so it has been a different year, but a successful one.”

No matter what happens moving forward, York wants his team to make sure they enjoy what they have accomplished so far this season.

“I try to make sure they understand to enjoy the moment and how special it is to win a regional title,” York said. “There are a lot of schools who would love to have the success we have had. They really did accomplish something and you like to see them celebrate these types of wins.”

Louisburg will now square off with Bishop Miege in the state quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium. It will be a rematch of last year’s regional title game, where Miege ended the Wildcats’ season. 

The Stags have also won the last seven state championships, so York knows the task will be a challenging one for his team. 

“Miege is fast and has a lot of skill,” York said. “They know how to take lumps and they learn that playing such a hard schedule. They have depth against 4A schools that they can run out and have ability to wear you down. If you don’t make them pay for the mistakes, you don’t get second chances. We will definitely be tested. I just want the girls take it to them the best that they can, and if we can have a good day and some luck, it should be a competitive game.”

In what was the final match of the regular season, there was a lot riding on Thursday’s home game for the Louisburg girls soccer team against Lansing.

A win would clinch the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament for the Wildcats — a goal they set for themselves prior to the season.

It was also an important one for emotional reasons. Louisburg had a chance to honor a 7-member senior class and their families on Senior Night.

In what was a pivotal moment of the season, the Wildcats played one of their best matches of the year. Louisburg scored a pair of goals in each half as the Wildcats cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Lions.

“For everything to shake out like we wanted it to, we had to win (Thursday),” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “When the girls got put in that scenario, I think they played really well and how we should be at this part in the season.

“This is a big goal, and there are a lot of teams in our classification that don’t play as hard of a schedule as we do. We played a lot of 6A and 5A schools and we have really tested ourselves this year.”

It was a special moment, especially for the seven Wildcat seniors that were recognized prior to the match. Lola Edwards, Macy Lemke, Lexi Hampton, Aliya Klugman, A.J. Fire, Hailey Sword and Ellery Allen all got the start on Senior Night.

This group has been a special one for York, who is in his second season with the program.

“These seniors were put in a difficult position,” York said. “They were mentored and led by a different group ahead of them, with a different coaching staff that had a lot of success. Then they had to endure some changes with new coaches and start over again. I am very thankful that this group, right off the bat, said we believe in what you are going to do and we trust you. They listen every day, they work hard, and they are fun to be around. 

“Last year’s senior class was really talented, and this year’s group had some big shoes to fill and they have done a great job with that. I hope they get to go as far as they can and make the most out of this season. They deserve all the success and are great leaders for the underclassmen. It is a very cool class.”

To start the match, it was actually a pair of juniors that put the Wildcats (11-5-1) up early. Midfielder Rowan Yows got the Wildcats on the board first, then forward Baileigh Johnson added another goal to give them a 2-0 halftime lead.

Yows scored her second goal of the match in the second half and Hampton added a goal late to all but seal the win for the Wildcats. 

Lemke, the team’s starting goalkeeper, had a chance to be on the shooting side of a penalty kick for once. Johnson was fouled in the box early in the second half, and the team elected for Lemke to take the penalty.

Her shot was saved thanks to a diving stop by the Lansing keeper.

Louisburg’s defense also kept the Lansing attack at bay as the back line of Sword, Faith Sewell, Lila Edwards, Jaden Bentz and Klugman limited the Lions’ chances on goal.

Although this was the second time the Wildcats have played Lansing this season, it was a tougher test this time around.

“I think Lansing played way better than when we played them earlier in the year,” York said. “They were organized and played well, but we just played a really good game. We played to feet well. For some reason they played a high back line all night, and we were able to take advantage of that.”

Now the Wildcats will prepare, for what they hope is a long postseason run. The No. 1 seed has earned them a bye in the first round and they will either play Kansas City Christian or Maranatha Academy on Thursday in the regional championship.

Not only did Louisburg get the No. 1 seed, it also got a breather when it needed it the most.

“It is very satisfying to play as well as you can this late in the season,” York said. “We are still a little drug down physically with some injuries, but now we get to wait to Thursday to play and it couldn’t have come at a better time. That gives us a good amount of time to get healed up physically and mentally, and get all on the same page.”

Three games in four days is tough on any team, but for a squad already dealing with multiple injuries, it is even more taxing.

That is what Louisburg faced Friday when it hosted Eudora for its third match in four days. The Wildcats tried to overcome their rash of injuries, but an early Eudora goal proved to be the difference in a 1-0 loss at Wildcat Stadium.

“We were a pretty run down group by Friday,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “Three games in four days would be normally difficult, but since the Augusta game we haven’t been 100 percent healthy since. Eudora had a good game plan and they created an opportunity early. We were able to have a lot of opportunities are ourselves, we just couldn’t get one to go.”

Eudora got on the board early as the Cardinals scored in the first 10 minutes of the match to go up one goal, but the Wildcats put the pressure on the Cardinal defense after that.

Louisburg (9-4-1) had 12 shots on goal for the match, compared to just four for Eudora. The Wildcats just had a tough time finding the back of the net.

“We really did have more opportunities than they did and we had probably 12 shots on goal,” York said. “We had a couple off the post that didn’t go. It was frustrating and the girls know we probably should have won the game. We didn’t play as well we could have, even with the injuries we have.”

The loss also put the Wildcats with a 1-2 record on the week after a setback to Basehor-Linwood on April 30, but bounced back with a win over Bonner Springs on Thursday.

Most of the Wildcat midfield have been dealing with injuries and hope to use the last week of the regular season to get healthier for a postseason run.

Louisburg did get a piece of good news as senior defender Ellery Allen will return to action during today’s home game against Ottawa. Allen has missed all season with a foot injury, but York is excited to have her back.

“Ellery practiced full on, so it will be nice to get her back as she is one of the top three or four players on our team with all the experience she has,” York said. “She is obviously not going to be as conditioned as the rest of the team, but she is going to be fine and will give her a few minutes here and there. Hopefully we can get this group as healthy as we can for the postseason.”

Following Tuesday’s home game against Ottawa, the Wildcats will host Lansing on Thursday for Senior Night.

Louisburg shuts out Bonner Springs on the road

After a tough loss to Basehor-Linwood on April 30, Louisburg needed a little pick-me-up and the Wildcats got it against Bonner Springs.

The Wildcats scored a pair of goals in each half as they blanked Bonner Springs, 4-0

“I thought we played pretty well at Bonner,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “Their coach does a nice job of getting them better as the season goes along. We got up 15 minutes and we were able to go from there. The girls wanted to put a few more goals away, but at the end of the day we will take it and it is always good to get a win.

Louisburg senior Lexi Hampton opened the scoring with a goal near the top of the box. Junior Rowan Yows added another to make it a 2-0 halftime lead.

Senior Hailey Sword launched a shot from about 25 yards to give the Wildcats their third goal and freshman Ellia Gibbons found the back of the net to seal the win for the Wildcats.

Senior goalie Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet and it was the Wildcats’ seventh shutout of the season.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week six of the spring sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

JADEN BENTZ, JUNIOR, GIRLS SOCCER

Defense has been the name of the game for the Louisburg girls soccer team as of late and Jaden Bentz has been a big part of the Wildcats’ success. Following a 3-0 shutout of Ottawa on Thursday, the Wildcats had won four of their last five matches — all by shutout. Bentz has been assigned to the team’s best player and has made life difficult for the opposition.

“Normally these awards go to offensive players, and that is understandable, but Jaden is an absolute shut down defender,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “She is one of the main reasons we have the shutouts we have this year.”

The Wildcats currently have an 8-3-1 record on the season, and that lone tie was a 0-0 result. Louisburg had gone five straight games without giving a goal and Bentz was an active part in that. Louisburg currently has six shutouts on the season.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the spring season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous Winners:

Week 1: Jack Anderson

Week 2: Nathaniel Lamm

Week 3: Derek Frederick

Week 4: Izzy Moreland

Week 5: Maddy Carpenter-Ross

OTTAWA — The injury bug has caught up with the Louisburg girls soccer team as the Wildcats currently have several players dealing with bumps and bruises, which isn’t ideal for a team that isn’t very deep.

Despite that, Louisburg has won four of its last five matches and one of those came Tuesday on the road as the Wildcats shutout Ottawa, 3-0.

It wasn’t the prettiest of performances according to head coach Ben York, but he was pleased to see his team battle through some adversity.

“We played a little uninspired at times, but I don’t want to take away from the win as they are all important this time of year,” York said. “We probably had 80 percent of possession but we didn’t finish a lot of chances. 

“We are battling through some stuff physically and we aren’t really deep. We had some girls that came in the game that gave us some good minutes. Every team has stuff going on at this point in the year, but we want to be trending upward toward the end of the season and this win helped with that.”

Louisburg got on the board early as senior Lexi Hampton put the Wildcats up 1-0 in the first half. Junior Baileigh Johnson followed with another goal and the Wildcats led 2-0 at halftime.

Junior Rowan Yows sealed the win in the second half with her first goal of the match and the Wildcats improved their record to 8-2-1 on the season, which is the best on the East side of Class 4-1A.

“We had a ton of shots,” York said. “Ottawa just packed it in and made it hard for us to score at times. We just tried to go through the defense instead of taking some shots from distance. We need to be more patient, but it is tough when the defense just packs it in on you.”

Louisburg’s defense played well as goalie Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet, while senior Hailey Sword was active in the back to lead the Wildcat defense.

The Wildcats will try and make it two straight wins tonight as they host Eudora in a Frontier League match. Start time is set for 6 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium.

“Definitely not disappointed with this win, but I want to see us on the uptick and accelerating toward the end of the season,” York said. “Eudora is going to be a competitive game for us, we have to come to play.”

Wildcats tie Augusta, roll Chanute

Last week had its ups and downs for Louisburg, but after it all, the Wildcats avoided the loss column. 

Louisburg earned a 0-0 tie against Augusta last Friday in Emporia, but recorded a 9-0 victory at Chanute on April 16.

Against Chanute, Baileigh Johnson, Lexi Hampton and Rowan Yows each scored two goals. Mena Fercho also found the back of the net, while Faith Sewell and Lila Edwards each scored their first varsity goal.

“It was really good,” York said. “One of the things I have been about, is we really share the load on who gets the scoring. How we approach the game is, if we are doing it properly, is about being unselfish and kids are just as interested in assists as goals. We got Macy some time outside of the goal and that was cool too.”

The Wildcats battled injuries against Augusta as Hampton, Yows and Fercho all had to leave the match at one time, but neither team could score in regulation or the two overtimes periods.

“We were the better skilled team and they were more disciplined and physical,” York said of Augusta. There was a lot of pulling and grabbing and that wore us down pretty good. We weren’t at full strength. Hailey played a really good game in the back and Macy made some really good saves too that kept the game scoreless.”

BALDWIN CITY — Prior to the season, the Louisburg girls soccer team had two games circled on its schedule. 

They were league games against Spring Hill and Baldwin — a pair of teams the Wildcats have struggled with in recent years. Louisburg wanted to exact some revenge.

Despite falling in an overtime match to Spring Hill earlier in the year, the Wildcats got the win they were looking for on a windy Thursday in Baldwin City.

Louisburg scored a pair of goals within minutes of each other in the second half and the Wildcats left with a 2-0 victory over the Bulldogs. It was also the second straight win for Louisburg as the Wildcats are now 6-2 on the season.

“One of the goals we made for this group was that when we play teams that we have not done well against in the past, is we want to change that narrative,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “The two teams we circled before the season was Spring Hill and Baldwin. They are two in league teams and we haven’t had the best success against them lately. We did a good job against Spring Hill, and it was a game we should have won. 

“The girls showed a lot of fight and determination against Baldwin. We had girls who were sick, some girls that were banged up and we need some time off. We are shallow in our substitutions right now. It was really good for the girls to get this win. They put a lot of effort and fight into this.”

The Wildcats controlled possession in the first half as they battled gusty wind conditions, but couldn’t find the back of the net. 

Baldwin turned the tides after halftime as it used the wind to create several opportunities, but the back line of Jaden Bentz, Hailey Sword, Faith Sewell and Lila Edwards turned away several chances.

Louisburg goalie Macy Lemke, who also earned the clean sheet, corralled several saves to keep the match scoreless. 

Then, midway though the second half, the Wildcat attack got going. 

Junior midfielder Rowan Yows got a through ball down the left side. She sent a cross into the box and it found the foot of freshman Ellia Gibbons, who scored her first varsity goal to put the Wildcats up one.

Just a few minutes later, the Wildcats used the same play in their favor. Yows got a ball down the left side, crossed the ball in, and senior Lexi Hampton found the back of the net to make it 2-0.

Yows, who battled an injury throughout the match, found a little extra as she made two of the bigger passes in the match.

“When Rowan was off the field, I decided to play her more out wide and away from the middle of the field and all the tackles,” York said. “She got a couple balls played through and she has a great left foot cross. It put the goalie in a bad situation with both of them in the wind. 

“At the time we weren’t in control of what was happening, and then all of sudden we made some plays and that is what good teams do. Was very pleased we faced adversity and really stuck with it and happy they got the result they wanted.”

Louisburg was battling illness and injury throughout the match and it left the Wildcats’ bench razor thin against one of the better teams in the league. Gibbons and Rylee Moore gave the Wildcats some much need minutes in the win.

“Our subs that come on for us right now, Rylee and Ellia, are really critical for us right now,” York said. “Right now, we are really only two deep and would like to have a couple more and hopefully we can expand our bench a little bit. Rylee did a good job and Ellia played a great game.”

The Wildcats will try and make it three straight wins as they travel for a non-league contest at Chanute. Varsity is slated to begin at 6 p.m.

Louisburg blanks Tonganoxie.

Louisburg traveled to square off with Tonganoxie on April 9 in hopes of snapping a two-match losing skid.

The Wildcats did just that as they shutout the Chieftains, 4-0, to improve in the Frontier League standings and got back on the winning track.

Senior Lexi Hampton scored a pair of goals to lead the Louisburg attack, while sophomore Mena Fercho and senior Hailey Sword also found the back of the net.

Louisburg senior Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet as the Wildcats picked up the road shutout.

The Louisburg girls soccer team wanted to see how it stacked up against one of the top teams in the Frontier League — Spring Hill.

It has been a few years since the Wildcats came away with a win over the Broncos and they were hoping this time would be different.

For most of the match, Louisburg answered Spring Hill at every turn during its Thursday home game and eventually forced overtime.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Spring Hill had a little more left in the tank as the Broncos scored late in the first overtime period and handed Louisburg a 3-2 setback.

“It was just a middle of the season game, but the girls really built this one up, especially after they beat us pretty good last year,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “This group of seniors have never beaten Spring Hill. One of our goals was to be competitive against good teams and we definitely were. We are still working on getting in better shape and that will come with time. It would have been a pretty big victory, but it was a super competitive game.”

Spring Hill scored first midway through the first half to take the early lead, but the Wildcats were able to respond late in the half and get some momentum going into halftime.

With about minute remaining, Louisburg junior Rowan Yows took a quick shot from about 25 yards out to even the match at 1-all. The shot sailed over the keepers head and into the corner of the net.

“We have been taking shots all season like that and I want the girls to take those opportunities,” York said. “I encourage our girls to take shots from distance and quick shots that were just like that. She, Hailey (Sword), Lola (Edwards) and Lexi (Hampton) are all capable of hitting shots like that. It was a really nice shot from Rowan.”

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Spring Hill took the lead again on a shot just inside the 18 that found the corner of the net.

It didn’t take long for the Wildcats to respond as senior Lexi Hampton scored two minutes later to tie it at 2-all. It stayed that way until the overtime period.

“We fought back every time Spring Hill scored and I am proud of them for that,” York said. “That is what I tried to emphasize the girls all season. Last year once a team scored, we couldn’t find ways to make things happen. We had an answer at two different times in the game to come back from being down. We talk about not getting too up or too down and just riding that wave and the girls showed a good attitude and a lot of fight.”

The Wildcat defense put together a strong showing all night as the back line of Hailey Sword, Jaden Bentz, Lila Edwards and Faith Sewell limited Spring Hill’s shots on goal.

However, Louisburg had a bit of tired legs as Spring Hill controlled the final 10 minutes of regulation and overtime before getting the game-winning score.

Although the Wildcats have now suffered back-to-back losses, they will try and get back on track today as they travel to Tonganoxie for a Frontier League matchup.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Offense wasn’t a problem in its first two games of the Turner Invitational as Louisburg won back-to-back matches to earn a spot in the championship game.

The Wildcats’ latest win came Wednesday in the semifinals as Louisburg scored four second half goals en route to a 5-0 win over Turner. Five different players scored for Louisburg in what was a balanced effort.

“Fitness wise we are good, but we were coming off a game the night before, and we were a little tired, but we played good defense,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “We struggled a little offensively, but once we got in after a halftime, we figured some things out and it got a lot better. We worked the ball around and played a more possession game and it opened up and we had a lot more opportunities in the second half.”

Louisburg (4-0) opened with a goal less than two minutes into the contest, but Turner packed its defense in around the goal and the Wildcats struggled to get good looks.

That all changed in the second half as the Wildcats scored four times to pull away for the victory. Louisburg was also strong defensively as senior goalie Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet.

Several different players got in the scoring column for Louisburg as Lexi Hampton, Bailiegh Johnson, Rowan Yows, Mena Fercho and Riley May each found the back of the net.

“A lot of people had chances and everyone was getting shots,” York said. “We need to work on our shots from the outside, but it was good to see everyone get involved and I thought the girls played well, esepcially in the second half.”

It was the second game in two days for Louisburg as the Wildcats opened the tournament Tuesday with a 7-1 victory over Sumner Academy. The Wildcats got a big game from Hampton as she finished with four goals.

Johnson added two goals in the victory and senior Hailey Sword added another. Louisburg jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead and scored five more times in the second half.

“Sumner got after it and made it an open game,” York said. “We just couldn’t make that final pass to our forwards in the first half. Once we figured that out in the second half, we played a lot better. We got in behind several times and the goals looked easy. It took awhile to get going and that will be what this team is for a little bit.”

Louisburg is now in the championship match as the Wildcats will face off with Shawnee Mission North at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Turner High School.

“They are very excited about it,” York said of his team playing in the championship. “Some of the younger girls don’t get the gravity of it yet, but this has like a postseason feeling with it being a championship game. I think that will amp the girls up a little and hopefully we can play strong and physical because North is a very good team.”

It is two matches and two wins for the Louisburg girls soccer team to begin its season and its latest victory came Thursday against Leavenworth in the Wildcats’ hope opener.

The Wildcats scored a pair of goals and came away with a 2-1 victory over the Pioneers. Although it wasn’t the cleanest of matches, the improvements were definitely there from game one to game two.

“I saw lots of progress,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “We are pretty fit right now and most of them played the entire game. We are having some difficulty in getting our forwards involved, but those are all things that time will fix as we move forward and get more comfortable with each other.”

Louisburg (2-0) got things going late in the first half offensively. Senior Lola Edwards brought the ball up through the midfield and found an open Baileigh Johnson.

Johnson sprinted down the right side, and after a pass from Edwards, Johnson shot the ball over the goalie’s outstretched arms and found the back of the net to give the Wildcats the lead.

Early in the second half, Johnson found the back of the net again. Senior Hailey Sword pushed the ball up the field and found Johnson.

The Louisburg junior took a shot just outside the box and put the Wildcats up, 2-0, less than two minutes into the second half. It was Johnson’s first two goals of the season.

“Baileigh has made a huge improvement and feels more comfortable in what she is doing,” York said. “She killed it at the JV level last year and came up with varsity to play some big minutes at times. She is confident this year and I think she is the most improved player we have right now.”

Leavenworth broke the shutout a few minutes later, but the Wildcats dominated possession from start to finish. 

“We are still learning and it is a new group with new faces,” York said. “I am giving them some freedom to work some things out in the back. I want them to get better. It is another game where if we play marginally to our strengths, we might win going away. 

“I’m happy with where half of our players are right now. I am gettin what I am expecting out of them and the other half is moving toward that. We have things we want to fix, but that is going to take time. We could be 0-2, and I would still be confident with where we are heading. The wins are good though and that builds confidence. This upcoming week will be a long week, but the most important thing is we need to stay healthy.”

The Wildcats will try for their third straight win tonight as they square off with Sumner Academy in the first round of the Turner Invitational. The match is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.

If the Wildcats get a victory, they will play the winner between Turner and Bonner Springs on Wednesday. The final game of the tournament will take place Friday.