In terms of impact, it’s not England-Argentina, or United States-Mexico.

Or, for those unfamiliar with some of soccer’s better rivalries, I’ll use local metaphors. It’s not Jayhawks-Tigers or Chiefs-Raiders.

But for Lawrence soccer fans, there’s nothing better than the Free State High-Lawrence High rivalry. The 7 p.m. matchup tonight at the Youth Sports Inc. fields won’t be flashy, and the teams won’t be exceptionally skilled. There might not even be a lot of scoring.

But for sheer passion and effort, tonight’s game will be tough to beat.

“There is definitely a rivalry,” FSHS coach Jason Pendelton said. “As a coach, I want every game to be big. But as for getting your kids excited to play, they really get up for this game.”

Free State, 4-2-1, considers itself among Kansas’ elite teams. With a 23-13-2 record the past two years and a trip to the state quarterfinals last year, the Firebirds are on that cusp.

Yet, Lawrence beat FSHS, 2-1, on its way to a 6-11 record in 2001, claiming bragging rights which bother the Firebirds to no end.

When the city soccer preview came out in late August, LHS senior midfielder Josh Yurek and FSHS senior goalkeeper Justin Howell posed for the article’s photo. Yurek started kidding Howell about the Lions’ win, and Howell retorted with Free State’s better record.

“You guys play all the $#!&*% teams, I forgot,” Yurek said.

“Who went farther in state? Who beat Shawnee Mission South in the playoffs last year?” Howell retorted.

It went on for another minute, and it was good-natured, but the Lions’ win was an obvious sore spot.

So goes the rivalry.

Bragging rights are a big deal in any sport, and the Lions have laid claim every year except 2000, when Free State won 3-1.

Some of those years, that was all either team had going.

“A couple of years ago, it made your season if you beat Free State,” LHS coach Keith Nelson said.

That holds true for the Lions this season. They’re 4-1 since the schools split in 1997, but 1-6 this season. A win tonight would brighten their season like nothing else.

“Based on the fact that Free State’s a good team, and anytime you beat a good team, it can turn your whole season around,” Nelson said. “Throw in the cross town rivalry and it’s huge.”

As if the game needed a twist, Firebird sweeper Cameron Baumchem, their best defender and maybe their best player, broke his leg in a 6-0 victory against Leavenworth on Tuesday.

Pendleton was undecided about whom to move into Baumchem’s spot, but he won’t be easy to replace. For the last two seasons, he and Howell have been the backbone of the Firebird defense. To go up against a Lions team that’s won four of the last five games without a guy like Baumchem is no easy task.

“It should force them to step up and fill his shoes,” Pendleton said. “I’m not sure we can, but we’ll try.”

If nothing else, it just heightens the drama in this rivalry. Not that it ever needed it.