Emporia ? Free State High scored first and last, but in between it was all Emporia.

As a result, the Firebirds’ girls soccer season ended with a 3-2 Class 6A regional first-round loss to EHS on Tuesday.

Free State High's Mary Bernhardt, right, jumps over Emporia High's Angela Rangel for a header. The Spartans toppled the Firebirds, 3-2, in the first round of their Class 6A regional Tuesday night in Emporia.

“We had our chances,” FSHS coach Jason Pendleton said. “We just didn’t convert.”

The Firebirds, whose season ended with a 5-9-2 record, took a 1-0 lead just three minutes in when Michelle Garcia scored off an assist from Meredith Mayo.

Emporia tied it with 15 minutes to go in the first half, then took a 3-1 lead with two goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

Free State, seeded sixth, pulled within 3-2 with 15 minutes left when Nicole Lafond scored off a corner kick by Garcia, but third-seeded Emporia turned back several attempts by Free State to tie it.

“We put a ton of pressure on them,” Pendleton said. “We had numerous scoring opportunities. Inside the last minute, we had a goal called back when the goalkeeper caught it and fell into the goal, but we were called for a penalty when they said we pushed her in. We had our opportunities.”

In that regard, Pendleton said, the season finale was like the year in microcosm.

“It was a season of missed opportunities,” he said. “We certainly had our chances through the season, but we weren’t able to convert when we had things facing us.”