Free State sophomore Emma Yackley knew exactly what to do when she saw the open net.

Late in the first half, Shawnee Mission North’s junior goalkeeper Chanelle Boldridge got caught drifting away from the goal in attempt to make a play near the edge of the box.

Instead, Yackley ended up with the loose ball and lofted it in the back of the net. The goal gave the Firebirds their first lead, and they never surrendered it en route to a 4-2 victory over the Indians at home Thursday.

“If the goalie is out, it’s an open goal. By all means, shoot it,” Yackley said. “It was a little disheartening after the second goal in the first half, but we bounced back. It was good and it was really fun.”

Yackley’s go-ahead goal served as the decisive capper to a flurry of late first-half goals for FSHS.

Despite digging themselves into an early 2-0 deficit within the first 20 minutes, the Firebirds (4-3) never wavered in confidence. They knew it was only a matter of time before they got on the board, as they had been controlling the possession.

That goal came with 12:51 to go in the first half, after Yackley pushed the ball up and was able to set up a penalty shot for junior Sydni Beeley. She elected to go right and was able to squeeze the team’s first goal into the back of the net for her second goal of the season.

“It was nice to see our team fight back, but you could see it in everyone’s eyes that we were not done,” Beeley said. “I think it clicked after the second goal. We were like OK, let’s stop messing around.”

Minutes later, Beeley set her teammate, senior Sabrea Platz, on a designed corner play to even the score. It actually marked the second time — first since the season opener — that Free State had notched multiple goals in a game.

But the team wasn’t done there either.

Yackley netted the third unanswered goal, in a matter of eight minutes, on a broken play. Yackley has now scored in two straight matches. She capped the night with a cross-field pass midway through the second half, which set up sophomore Julia Larkin’s first goal of the season.

Free State will play host to Leavenworth at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.