“Everyone plays but few ever truly COMPETE.”

That slogan emblazoned on the black T-shirts of Free State High soccer fans summed it all up Thursday night at FSHS.

Lawrence High's Samantha Lopez, left, dribbles the ball as Free State's Rebekah Berkley defends. Lopez scored her 11th goal of the season in the Lions' 1-1 tie with the Firebirds on Thursday at Free State.

But it wasn’t just the Firebirds who were playing their tail-feathers off. Crosstown rival Lawrence High put its Lion pride on the line in a game that featured several aggressive spills and more than a couple of goalie-saving thrills, but no actual winner.

For 100 minutes FSHS and LHS gave each other their best shots and when the scoreboard ticked to zero after the second overtime with each team showing a goal apiece, the only comfort either squad had was the fact that both left everything on the field.

“I’m real proud of how we played today,” said LHS coach Keith Nelson of the first-ever tie in the city series. “Coming into today we knew that whatever team wanted it the most was going to end up with the win, but both teams wanted it and neither was willing to let up.”

While Free State coach Jason Pendleton was equally impressed with the effort shown not only by his team (4-8-2) but also by LHS (8-5-2), he had a little different take on the draw.

“It’s like the old saying, ‘A tie is kind of like kissing your sister,'” Pendleton quipped. “But my sister’s not that pretty, so it definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth.”

Free State High's Emilie Humbarger, left, battles Lawrence High's Andrea Stoneback for control of the ball. The Firebirds and Lions tied, 1-1, for the first time in the history of the city series Thursday night at the FSHS field.

But Pendleton surely enjoyed his team’s sweet start Thursday when FSHS scored first behind senior Katy Vormehr’s tip-toeing-the-sideline pass to Michelle Garcia, who bodied the ball past LHS goalie Shannon Fisher in the game’s eighth minute.

LHS would respond offensively, but two Lions’ shots just sailed over the top of the goalie box and FSHS held a 1-0 lead at the half.

Lawrence, which had been outshot by Free State in the first 40 minutes, adjusted at the break and quickly pushed the ball into Firebird territory at the start of the second stanza.

Free State goalie Alicia Sellon deflected a flurry of LHS shots on goal early, but had no chance at Samantha Lopez’s crossing rocket which sliced into the upper left corner of the box with a little more than 20 minutes to go.

“I was never really worried that we would get back in it,” said LHS senior Bliss Lemmon of Lopez’s tying goal. “We knew that if we continued to battle within our game plan, we’d have a shot.”

Speaking of battles, after Lopez’s 11th goal of the season, seven of which have come in the last five games, things really intensified.

Every ball was contested at both ends of the field with feet protruding every which way and bodies flailing faster than either coach could find substitutes for.

“I knew it was going to be a hard-fought game,” said Vormehr, who had beaten the Lions each season before Thursday. “But that’s probably the best we competed in two halves, and even the two overtimes for that matter, all season.”

Neither team could gain control, although Free State’s Morgan Matthews almost sealed the Firebirds’ senior day festivities with a one-on-one challenge with a minute and half remaining. But her shot deflected out of Fisher’s outstretched arms and was cleared by the Lions’ defense.

Both overtimes repeated the theme of the last 20 minutes of regulation and the majority of those minutes were spent in a midfield chess match-up.

Only Lopez had a viable scoring opportunity in the extra time and a diving Sellon made a tremendous save to stop her shot.

“I wished that we could have gone out with a win in the last time that we played them,” Lemmon said. “But we know that we played our hearts out.”