When Lawrence High and Free State face off at 4 today in the first city soccer showdown of the season, the shoe will be on the other foot.

Last year, the senior-heavy Firebirds enjoyed an advantage in experience each time the two city squads met. This time around, it’s the Lions who own that advantage.

First-year LHS coach Matt Anderson has 12 seniors on his roster, compared with just four for Free State coach Jason Pendleton. But the LHS coach is not expecting his team’s experience to make the difference in the game. Anderson does, however, credit his upperclassmen for his team’s 2-1 start.

“We’re further ahead than I thought we would be and I attribute that to experience,” he said. “I haven’t seen Free State play so I’m not sure if everything that we’re doing is going to work or not. I think we’ll still be able to do what we want to do. It’s kind of two teams on the rise and we get to butt heads early in the season.”

Like the Lions, who won their first two games before falling to Shawnee Heights in Game 3, the Firebirds enter today’s contest with momentum.

Free State (1-0-1) beat Bonner Springs in its opener and played even against Shawnee Mission South on Tuesday, coming from behind to earn a 1-1 tie.

The Firebirds’ effort against the Raiders left them encouraged about their chances today.

“I feel good after how we played (vs. SMS),” senior Parker Liebl said. “It should be a good game.”

As expected, fundamentals figure to factor heavily into the outcome of the game. But both coaches said the energy and excitement surrounding the game also would play a role.

“You have to sort out the emotion of it,” Pendleton said. “And the big thing is not to let your emotions cloud your decision-making. I’m confident our kids will make good decisions.”

Anderson, a veteran of the rivalry on the girls side, said he believed the hype could benefit both teams.

“A lot of people say this is just another game,” Anderson said. “But I don’t believe that. This is a rivalry game and it’s a great rivalry. We had a lengthy talk (Tuesday) about what the rivalry means to each player and what it means to me. It’s going to be faster and the game’s going to be a blur for the first 15 minutes. Whoever settles their nerves faster is going to have an advantage.”