Lawrence High’s defense played well Tuesday night, but not well enough to defeat the defending state champion Olathe East soccer team.

“They’re always good, and we had a chance to make a statement tonight, but came up a little short,” LHS coach David Platt said. “They were a little bit better.”

En route to its 3-0 victory, East controlled the game, attempting an impressive 26 shots on goal. A solid Lions defense deflected most of the shots, including an impressive save by senior Kevin Calton when goalie David Liston vacated the goal.

“I kind of read their team and knew where they were going to kick the ball,” Calton said, “and basically ran and cleared it as hard as I could.”

East senior Thomas Freeman scored the Hawks’ first two goals on headers. The first occurred at the 24:49 mark and the second at the 38:51 mark in the first half. Junior Steven Stewart scored the final goal with 4:09 left in the game.

“We gave up two unmarked goals,” Platt said. “The first one was inexcusable. The kid walked in and headed a corner kick with nobody on him, and the second one : a kid was marking him but giving him too much space.

Lawrence High's Kevin Calton (23) passes to a teammate. The Lions lost, 3-0, Tuesday to defending state champion Olathe East. Its the most skilled team weve

“But those are correctable errors.”

Despite the loss, the Lions (3-2) showed how far they have come in one season. Last year they won one game, and this year they hung tough with one of the state’s strongest squads.

“This team was a lot better than any team we’ve played,” Calton said. “It was kind of an awakening.”

LHS has risen out of its dormancy largely because of its experience. The Lions have 12 seniors, and most of that group has played together for the last three years on the junior varsity or varsity team. Now they are stronger, more confident and very focused.

“We stepped it up. We’re more mature,” Liston said. “And we’re ready to come out fighting because the last three years weren’t terrific years for us.”

Lawrence High's Ignacio Carvajal (11) eyes the ball. LHS fell to Olathe East, 3-0, Tuesday at YSI.

The back four defenders remain strong for Lawrence, but the Lions must improve their offense. Senior Nathan Roush came close to scoring in the 21st minute of the second half, but the Hawks made sure the ball stayed on their side most of the night.

During practice, the LHS offense will emphasize communicating, playing more aggressively and protecting the ball.

Platt said his team could produce a potent offense.

“We showed moments of it, but our touch wasn’t consistent enough,” Platt said. “And sometimes we get a little excited, and then they take the ball off our feet.”

On the defensive side, Liston played goalie Tuesday instead of Colin Flanders. Because both seniors have proven to be skilled goalies, Platt rotates them from game to game.

“We balance each other out pretty well, and Platt tries to give us both pretty equal playing time,” Liston said. “It’s friendly competition to keep us building.”

LHS will receive another chance to build its program when they play one more heavyweight- Olathe North – Thursday. But on Tuesday, Lawrence High could not handle a strong Olathe East team.

“They have a lot of talented soccer players, but so do we,” Platt said. “We came really close to making something good happen, and we just weren’t quite there.”