Olathe ? Walking off of the field for the final time this season, Lawrence High girls soccer players were in good spirits Tuesday.

The Lions lost in the first round of regionals, 1-0, against Olathe East at College Boulevard Activity Center. But more than that, they were proud of what they accomplished against one of the best teams in the Sunflower League.

Before their regional matchup, the Lions changed their defensive game plan, and it worked to near perfection. Olathe East senior midfielder Emily Blais scored the game-winning goal with seven minutes left.

The Lions finished the year with a 7-10 record, their most wins in a season since 2009.

“I think we just wanted to prove to some people what we could do,” LHS junior defender Carson Drake said. “I think even though we didn’t win, we sort of scared them a little bit, which was victory enough for us.”

When the two teams played each other less than two weeks ago on the same field, the Lions lost, 6-0. On Tuesday, the Lions were sharp defensively with a bend-but-don’t-break mentality against the fifth-seeded Hawks (11-5-1), especially back-line defenders Drake, sophomore Katelyn McIntyre, freshman Leslie Ostronic and junior April Hodges. They won plenty of 50-50 balls in the air and made successful tackles outside of the 18-yard box.

LHS sophomore goalkeeper Tori Mosakows was at the top of her game, making one of her best saves right before the horn at halftime. Only a few feet in front of the goal line, she blocked a shot by diving to her left, saw the ball was about to spin into the net and made a second effort to secure the ball.

“She’s a workhorse, and she put in, probably, two hours extra with her own goalkeeper coach yesterday, and it paid off,” LHS coach Matt McCune said of Mosakows. “I told her, ‘That’s what extra training does. It makes you better.’ It doesn’t make you perfect, but it makes you better.”

McCune’s speech before the regional matchup was to embrace the underdog mentality and have fun. The Lions had no pressure on them as the No. 12 seed.

“Obviously, last game it was 6-0, so this game was kind of a different story, even though they kind of slipped one in with seven minutes,” Drake said. “It was good we stuck with them and had a few chances. I’m proud of the way we played.”