Free State midfielder Maya Hodison gets between Shawnee Heights players Jasmine Blindt, left, and Payton Gaggero during the first half, Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at Free State High School.

Run, run, run. Sabrea Platz had heard the instructions from Free State High’s girls soccer coaches so much she didn’t have to think about what to do as an opportunity presented itself Tuesday night in the first half against Shawnee Heights.

Platz, a junior forward, instinctively veered toward the center of the turf to take off as a crowd of white and red uniforms jumbled near midfield on a pass. Running — just as instructed — Platz broke free at the moment the ball ricocheted its way off some Thunderbirds, somehow finding her in stride. Platz surged ahead with nothing in front of her but the goalkeeper, and struck the ball precisely into the upper-left corner for the Firebirds’ first score of the season, in the 11th minute of what became a 2-1 FSHS home victory.

Coach Kelly Barah and his staff wanted Platz on the move, she said, because the ball was bound to leak through the defense at some point.

“I think it was a mixture of good timing and a lucky through ball,” the junior said.

The early goal eased the Firebirds into their season opener, too.

“The first game we have lots of nerves,” Platz shared. “We’re playing together for the first time and that really settled us in.”

Free State (1-0) truly needed some breathing room, too, on a night the home team only put five shots on goal. FSHS got even more cushion early in the second half, when junior Molly Bryant boomed a long score into the back of the net, from about 25 yards out — into the wind, no less.

“That’s a really hard shot,” Platz said. “That’s a rocket. She perfectly placed that. Molly’s definitely the person to do that.”

Bryant put the shot high enough that the goalkeeper couldn’t make a play on it, and the Firebirds led 2-0 in the 43rd minute.

“I saw space between myself and the defense,” Bryant said, “so I figured I’m capable of shooting from that distance, so I’ll just give it a go.”

She could tell by the sound of the thud when her cleat met the ball her strike had a chance. And Barah said he likes to see Bryant make such assertive plays.

“We have some midfielders that have the leg power to go from 25 to 28 yards and so, yes, we were kind of excited to see one pop off,” the coach said. “But we’ve seen better ones from her foot, so we hope that the crowd is always around to see some of those.”

Shawnee Heights made things interesting late when a Tristen Rand free kick bounced off FSHS junior goalkeeper Jessica Ellebracht, and Thunderbirds junior Jasmine Blindt put home the rebound in the 74th minute. However, that proved to be the third and final shot on goal for the visitors.

SHHS rarely had such good looks at the net, with FSHS defenders such as senior Lauren Johnson and sophomore Kate Odgers taking away passing and shooting lanes.

“I thought the whole unit did really well,” Barah said of the defense. “We were able to pick up and realize when to pressure and when to drop off, and they did a brilliant job with that.”