Free State High senior Aaron Ideus (6) moves the ball upfield against Topeka High. Ideus, a senior, and the Firebirds will play Olathe East tonight in the state tournament.

Driving past the Free State High soccer field Tuesday evening, if you glanced at the scoreboard you probably would have thought the game hadn’t begun.

Two hours and two overtimes later, and neither Free State nor Topeka High had scored. Both teams displayed offense, but defense was king.

“We played reasonably well,” Firebirds coach Jason Pendleton said after the 0-0 tie. “We had been struggling creating some offense. I thought today we actually, despite not scoring, created some very positive scoring opportunities and forced a very good keeper to make three very good saves.”

The first-half attacking was summed up by a Topeka High player yelling at his teammates as he was substituted out: “Stop playing kickball. Let’s get small passes.”

Free State High junior Drew Schelar (11) fights with Topeka High's Brandon Allen for a loose ball. The Firebirds settled for a 0-0 tie Tuesday at Free State.

His teammates heeded his words and aggressively attacked the Firebirds. The only Free State action in the first half came when the announcer tried to knock loose a ball that was lodged in a tree after it soared over the benches.

FSHS finally slowed the Trojan offense in the second half and generated its own offensive chances.

“Our play was definitely strong on defense,” Firebird senior Aaron Ideus said. “I felt like we were getting our cover, marking up well.”

After a Topeka High penalty in the 62nd minute, Ideus took a penalty kick that looked destined to find the back of the net, but Topeka goalkeeper Dale Andrew made a diving save.

Free State senior K.J. Siebert tries to break away from Topeka High senior Brandon Allen during the second half of Tuesday's game at Free State. The game ended in a 0-0 tie.

Nearly three minutes later, Firebird senior goalkeeper Brian Hatesohl made his own diving save. But the most important save for Free State came in the final seconds of regulation.

Topeka saw an open goal and its second straight victory over Free State, but senior John Sneegas got a leg on the shot and preserved the tie.

“I just was in my position, where I was supposed to (be). Brian Hatesohl had to kind of shift over because he has to protect front post,” Sneegas said. “I saw the shot coming, I was falling on my guy, I was just where I was supposed to be and just got a good clearance.”

Ideus said that to win with great defensive play, the Firebirds must capitalize on their offense.

“We have to have our forwards just keep working. We just got to keep improving on their runs, getting the combinations we need from forward to forward,” Ideus said. “When we can start getting passes linked together up top, goals will come from that. Good things will happen from good play.”