Topeka ? It took 17 games of frustration for the Lawrence High boys soccer team to finally erupt.

Following the Lions’ 3-0 regional loss Tuesday to Washburn Rural — one that ended Lawrence’s season at 1-13-3 — the Junior Blues and Lions were involved in a mild altercation when they were supposed to be shaking hands. The physical conflict didn’t get out of hand, but verbal jabs went back and forth for several minutes.

LHS co-coach Matt Makens said the conflict was started by a Washburn Rural player, who said or did something directed at LHS junior Pharouk Hussein.

Makens also admitted both teams probably were a little livid from the outcome of Tuesday’s game.

“Washburn Rural is the defending state champ,” Makens said. “And I think they found out tonight that they’re not as good as they thought.

“Granted, we had a lot of frustration built up, too.”

Tuesday was just another in a long line of disappointing games for the Lions. The Junior Blues (12-4-1) jumped to a 1-0 lead just five minutes into the match when Nick Madden scored on a cross from Andrew Forrest.

But Lawrence stayed close, and was poised to tie the game at 1. In the ninth minute, LHS senior Chris Armstrong took a pass, spun around and unleashed a shot from the top of the goal box. It appeared perfectly placed, but the shot struck the crossbar and stayed out of the goal.

“I thought it was in,” Armstrong said.

Lawrence High's Dustin Billings (13) fights for the ball with Washburn Rural's G.T. Coe. The Lions ended their season Tuesday night with a 3-0 Class 6A regional loss to the Junior Blues in Topeka.

It wasn’t, but in the 29th minute, Washburn Rural forward Brice Little put his team up 2-0 when he — just the Lions’ luck — knocked a shot off the crossbar and into the goal.

It can be a game of inches, as Lawrence learned all too often this year. Instead of a 1-1 score, it was 2-0, all because one shot decided to deflect off the crossbar more favorably than another.

“If Chris’s shot goes, in, it’s huge,” Makens said. “That ties the game up and gives us a lot of momentum.”

But instead, Lawrence’s final game went down the same unwanted path as many others this season.

“Our record doesn’t indicate how strong we were,” Armstrong said. “We were better than a lot of teams we played, but they got lucky with a lot of their opportunities.”

Washburn Rural added its final goal in the 47th minute, just four minutes after Armstrong had another golden opportunity sail wide.

But for the game, the Junior Blues controlled much of the tempo. Washburn Rural outshot the Lions, 23-4, and played more intensely — and the cocky confidence seemed to irk the Lions.

So the Lions played scrappy soccer, seemingly outhustling and getting physical at times near the end of the second half. That seemed to irk the Junior Blues.

It added up to postgame hostility that did nothing but make the blood boil a little more.

“I don’t know man,” Armstrong said. “That just wasn’t good.”