Lawrence High senior goalkeeper Apramay Mishra leaps up for a save on a corner kick during the boys soccer team's regional final match against Olathe East on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. The Hawks won 3-0.

Olathe ? Lawrence High’s boys soccer players sat on their bench fighting tears when Olathe East players raised their regional title plaque and jumped around with their student section Thursday.

It was too painful to watch for most LHS players after a 3-0 loss at College Boulevard Activity Center.

“It’s horrible. I mean going into the game, we thought we were going to win,” LHS senior defender Charlie Carr said. “There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game, even though we were the ninth seed. We had so much confidence and it was just a couple of slip-ups.”

Facing the top-seeded team in the Class 6A Northeast regional bracket, the ninth-seeded Lions wanted to keep the score close and keep their energy up for a late score or potential overtime periods.

But the Hawks (17-1), undefeated against teams from Kansas, scored two of their goals in the second half to put a stop into any upset bid.

With 21 minutes remaining, Olathe East senior Shane Kopplin scored on a rebound when a breakaway opened a couple of chances inside of the box, delivering a gut punch to the Lions who were hoping to build an offensive attack in the final minutes with frequent substitutions.

Olathe East senior Isaac Scott added a goal with 8:40 left, driving a shot into the back of the net on a pass from senior Julien Denis that went through the teeth of the LHS defense.

“I never, never had that (feeling) before,” senior midfielder Ebrahim Diagne said. “It’s our senior year and we’re never going to play again. It’s just really hard. I don’t know how to say it.”

Offensively, the Lions were limited against O-East’s vaunted defense, which has only allowed 11 goals. Senior forward Cain Scott, who scored 17 goals this year, and Diagne were constantly marked by two defenders.

“You’ve got to be able to create more offense than we were creating,” Murphy said. “But we thought we could keep it close and our game plan was to keep it close. Keep it 0-0, 1-0 game where maybe late you can get a free kick, which we had.”

Olathe East scored in the 19th minute of the first half on a set piece, following a handball from LHS senior goalkeeper Apramay Mishra, who touched the ball outside of the 18-yard box. O-East senior Griffin Stone knocked in a header for a 1-0 advantage.

The Hawks controlled possession for the majority of the first half, creating strong opportunities against Mishra and Lawrence’s back line of defenders — seniors Carr, Cameron Guy, Parker King and DJ Davis. But each time the Hawks had an opportunity to shoot in the box, usually a LHS defender — or midfielders Spencer Monninger, Husam Aldamen and Ben Matthews — could deflect shots away.

Despite being outshot, 13-1, in the first half, the Lions remained confident at halftime that they could find a way to score in the first 10 minutes of the second half. They created a pair of opportunities, but neither found the back of the net.

Ultimately, the Lions were proud of their accomplishments this season, including a 9-8-1 record and their first regional win since 2012 earlier in the week, but just devastated by the ending.

“Our C-team freshmen year was 0-16,” Carr said. “We didn’t think we were going to be this good. To get one win away from double-digit wins, I mean, we couldn’t have asked for much more.”