Meghan Hrenchir had a career day on Thursday afternoon. The sophomore goalkeeper on the Free State High girls soccer team slid, jumped, deflected and pounced for 15 saves in a home game against Olathe South.

So why the long faces on the Firebirds’ sideline after the contest?

The Falcons blasted 23 shots-on-goal, rolling over Free State, 8-0.

“When you face that many shots in a game, there’s going to be shots that get in the back of the net,” Free State interim coach Chuck Law said. “I think she would admit that there were a couple of balls that she probably should have saved, but she also made two or three phenomenal saves.

“When the ball goes in the net, everyone looks at the fact that it got past the goalkeeper. Invariably, there was some place else on the field where the breakdown occurred that lead to that goal being scored.”

Invariably, the Firebirds (1-6-1) could not stop a relentless offensive surge by Olathe South (8-3), despite a valiant effort from Hrenchir and her backfield, especially junior defender Banaka Okwuone.

Almost every minute of the first half was played in Hrenchir’s territory as the Falcons rocketed 15 shots on-goal in the half alone. Hrenchir made 11 saves, leading to a 4-0 Olathe South edge going into the half.

In stark contrast, the most exercise that Olathe South goalkeeper Katie Cogswell got in the first portion of the game was when she ran out onto the field for player introductions. Cogswell didn’t touch the ball until the 25th minute of the first half. The Firebirds ended up with just one shot-on-goal coming off the foot of freshman Alexa Moreno with seven seconds left in the game.

Olathe South junior forward Nicole Logan caused the biggest headache for Free State with four goals and two assists, but the Falcons had plenty of other infantry charging at the net. Courtney Russell, Leslie Clark, Kaitlin Roberts and Alyssa Rhodes, who all scored, were just four members of the opposition’s battalion.

“They’re a top-five team,” said Law, who was filling in for Jason Pendleton after Pendleton’s wife was scheduled to give birth on Thursday. “That is a level that we hope to aspire to some day, but we are, quite frankly, not there. We talked about just competing and using this as an opportunity to measure where we are as a program.”

The Firebirds, who only have six upperclassmen on the roster, could play the young-and-inexperienced card — but they won’t.

“You can always come up with an excuse, but it’s not worth it,” Hrenchir said. “The fact that we are a young team makes it harder, but apart from this game, we’ve been able to compete with the other teams. So that’s reassuring to know.”

Free State has a day until it plays its next state power, Emporia, at home on Saturday.

“The fact that we did just lose 8-0 … it kind of sucks,” Hrenchir said. “But in athletics, there’s instant redemption. We have a chance to redeem ourselves on Saturday.”