Friday’s heat, Leavenworth’s speed and the loss of starting goalkeeper Megan Hrenchir in the opening minutes doomed Free State High’s girls soccer squad.

Hrenchir’s replacement, Bry Aiken, was able to fend off Leavenworth’s attack for most of the game, but the Firebirds fell, 2-1 in overtime, at Free State.

“I thought Bry stepped in and did a really great job and certainly played well enough for us to win the game or give us opportunities to win the game,” Firebirds coach Jason Pendleton said. “She stepped in nicely, but Megan’s a good goalkeeper, and not having her out there changed some things that we could do on the field, because Bry’s a field player for us.”

About five minutes after Hrenchir came out because of a hyperextended elbow, Sierra Best headed in a Logan Keasling corner kick to put the Firebirds ahead, 1-0.

Aiken spent the next 70 minutes gobbling up Pioneer shots.

“It was a little scary, but we all played well,” Aiken said. “So I’m not completely disappointed, but it’s not fun to lose.”

But with five and a half minutes remaining in regulation, the heat finally caught up with Free State. Leavenworth was able to penetrate the defense and score, forcing overtime.

“The heat really affected us,” Best said. “I know a lot of us were getting really tired toward the end. We just kind of let down after they scored that goal, though.”

Leavenworth immediately attacked in the overtime. Free State held off the Pioneers, however, until a golden goal in the last minute.

“Both goals, unfortunately, were situations where we didn’t execute and made mistakes in terms of our actual execution,” Pendleton said. “But I guess the good news is it wasn’t because of lack of athleticism – it was just more a result of us making bad plays.”

Despite the outcome, Pendleton said he was pleased with the effort against a team that finished in the upper half of the Sunflower League a year ago.

“I just think it was another game where we were playing not to lose, with a 1-0 lead as opposed to trying to do some things to generate a little more offense and be creative,” he said.