From her spot along the sideline during the first half of Lawrence High’s 10-0 soccer loss to Olathe South, ballgirl Adrienne Struble noticed the Falcons had plenty of strengths.

“They had really nice passes and control,” said Struble, a member of the LHS junior varsity squad. “They were really focused.”

After shedding her ballgirl role and playing the final 20 minutes — her first on varsity — Struble’s assessment of the defending state champs didn’t vary much.

“There’s not much you can do but try your hardest,” she said.

LHS co-head coaches Matt Makens and David Platt didn’t want to take such extreme measures and play their ballgirl during Thursday night’s game at the Youth Sports Inc. fields, but the Falcons (12-2 overall, 10-0 Sunflower League) didn’t give them much choice. O-South was so fast, so agile and so crafty with the ball that most of the LHS players were gasping for air by halftime.

“At one point, we played with only one sub,” Makens said. “That’s hard when it’s 90 degrees. If I could’ve asked the girls for more effort, they couldn’t have given it.”

The one sub turned out to be Struble. Despite lacking varsity experience, she was as effective as any of the varsity Lions against the Falcons, the third-ranked team in Class 6A. It didn’t make much difference, though, because O-South was too good.

The Lions (2-13, 2-8) did all they could to keep the Falcons out of the net, but they repeatedly found ways to score.

OSHS forward Nicole Logan faked out two LHS defenders and fired a right-footed shot just inside the near post in the third minute for O-South’s first goal. Chelsea Goosen found the net on a wide-open shot from the back side following a perfect cross pass from Brittany Goosen that split the LHS defense. Lizie Ayers made the Falcon lead 3-0 just 41 seconds later.

OSHS led 5-0 at halftime despite hitting the crossbar four times, and it tallied five more scores in the second half. Logan scored three goals.

“When you’re going up against a team from Olathe, you expect every player to be top-notch,” Makens said, “and they were.”

The Lions close the regular season Tuesday at home against Shawnee Mission South.

Lawrence High's Maggie Barnes, left, and Marti McDonald react to an Olathe South goal. O-South defeated LHS, 10-0, Thursday at the Youth Sports Inc. fields.