As the ball soared through the air, Free State sophomore Emma Yackley thought of all the reasons that it wouldn’t land in the back of the net.

She thought her shot attempt early in the second half, which was a few yards outside the box, may have been too far out. Yackley didn’t think she got enough spin on the ball to tuck it in the top right corner of net. She feared Leavenworth goalie Liz LaDuron was somehow going to get a fingertip on it.

As it turned out, there was no need to worry about any of that. The ball found the back of the net, and her teammates congratulated Yackley on her third goal of the game. Her hat trick was more than enough to help the Firebirds cruise past the Pioneers, 7-0, at home Tuesday.

“We have definitely turned it around offensively,” Yackley said. “We have gone into the games with more of an attacking mindset, more than previous seasons. I think we are just coming in stronger and we are better as a team. And it’s starting to pay off.”

Free State (5-3) has won four consecutive games in a row and appear to be clicking, especially on the offensive end. The Firebirds have scored a total of 11 goals over their last two games combined. To put that in comparison, they recorded four goals through the first six games of the season.

The offense was on display early, as Free State jumped out to a 3-0 advantage within the first seven minutes of action. A strong start was a point of emphasis for the squad after falling into an early two-goal hole in last week’s come-from-behind victory over Shawnee Mission North.

“Seeing a ton of goals actually go in was very good,” FSHS coach Kelly Barah said. “We want to make sure we give the first punch every game. It was exciting to see that.”

Just over a minute into the game, the Firebirds scored their first of many goals on a corner play from Yackley to senior Sabrea Platz. A couple minutes later, Yackley notched her first goal from just inside the box, which got past a diving LaDuron.

On the ensuing possession, Yackley fed Platz once again.

Platz scored her fourth goal of the season, as she beat the Pioneers goalkeeper on a fastbreak, to take a three-goal lead. The Firebirds then added another goal midway through the first half via Yackley on an assist by sophomore Brittany Hoffman.

“You didn’t want to come in cocky with this team,” Yackley said. “But you wanted to come in strong and finish it right off the bat. We did a good job of doing that.”

Yackley completed her hat trick and scored her fifth goal of the season with 29:58 to go in the game.

Freshman Kenzie Rorabaugh scored less than a minute later during a two-on-one breakaway opportunity. Freshman Sidney Yother scored the game’s final goal with 25:57 remaining. Both marked as the first goals of their varsity careers.

Meanwhile, the defense did its part to log the fourth shutout of the year. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Ellebracht made a pair of saves to keep Leavenworth off the scoreboard all night. Junior Kate Odgers, senior Molly Bryant, and sophomore Julia Larkin also made multiple plays defensively.

“Just the ability to tuck it in the net has been the (biggest) difference,” Barah said. “We have played some really good soccer since the season started. We are excited for our journey forward.”

Free State will travel to Shawnee Mission West at 7 p.m. Thursday.