photo by: Mike Yoder

Free State soccer player Rowan Laufer (4), center, kicks in a shot for a score during the Firebirds match against the Leavenworth Pioneers on Sept. 28, 2016 at FSHS.

In the first 18 minutes of Tuesday’s match, the Free State boys soccer team dominated possession but had nothing to show for it.

Instead of panicking and forcing the issue, the Firebirds continued their methodical attack featuring smart and precise passing along with smothering defense.

That was ultimately too much for Leavenworth as Free State came away with a 3-0 win at FSHS.

“To see the kids be patient in the first couple of minutes and not force the issue was nice,” Free State coach Kelly Barah said. The Firebirds improved their record to 6-2 and are riding a four-game winning streak.

In the 19th minute, Free State’s attacking finally paid off as sophomore midfielder Rowan Laufer snuck behind the Pioneers’ defense to score the first goal.

“Once you get the first goal, you always want to go back and get the second and third pretty quickly to put the game away,” Laufer said. “I think we did that pretty well tonight.”

photo by: Mike Yoder

Free State soccer player Branden Patterson (10) attacks the goalie near the net net during the Firebirds match against the Leavenworth Pioneers Tuesday night at FSHS.

In the 28th minute, junior defender Charlie Newsome’s header off a corner kick hit off the crossbar, but it was clear the Firebirds had the upper hand and wouldn’t be held to just one goal for long.

“We went in and executed like we wanted,” Barah said. “We were keeping the ball quite a bit and setting up the kids of opportunities and using the gaps we worked on in practice.”

In the 29th minute, senior forward Brennan Clark gave the Firebirds a commanding 2-0 lead, which they took into halftime. Then in the 45th minute, Newsome nailed a penalty kick to give the Firebirds an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

“We were really finding the passes that we needed to,” Laufer said. “We were connecting from the midfield all the way to our forwards. We were able to break them down pretty easy in the beginning and hold them off.”

Thanks to the Firebirds’ smothering defense, the Pioneers struggled to string together passes and had very few chances on goal. Even the chances the Pioneers were given didn’t have much quality, as they didn’t have a single shot inside the Firebirds’ 18-yard box until the 77th minute.

It should come as no surprise that the Firebirds looked a step quicker on offense all night because they didn’t have to work nearly as hard on defense.

“You’re able to save yourself for when you have to attack and you don’t have to chase on defense.” Laufer said.

The Firebirds will start the first of three straight road games, beginning at 7 tonight at Shawnee Mission West.