The start couldn’t have gone any better. Well, except for one thing.

Immediately following the kickoff of Free State’s 2-0 loss to Olathe North on Tuesday, the Firebirds had a chance at a goal.

Charlie Newsome had the ball at his feet standing just outside the box. He turned and fired a shot toward the back post.

“He did everything absolutely perfectly,” said Firebirds coach Kelly Barah. “It’s one of those things where you just hope he hits the inside and not the outside of the post.”

“To see it ricochet and go out,” Barah added. “That’s a little deflating.”

It was a rather ominous moment.

Despite totaling three shots and a corner kick in the first three minutes of the match, the Firebirds were held without a goal.

The other way, they were content to let the Eagles test goalkeeper Thomas White from distance until one of those opportunities turned into a corner, ending with a goal on a header by Javier Contreras.

The 1-0 deficit was manageable — the Firebirds (7-7-2) totaled 10 shots in the first half — but things got a little tougher right at its conclusion.

With less than five seconds to play in the period, White attempted to block a shot by Olathe North’s Alex Aguilar, but White fell to the ground as he tried to catch the ball. The clock ran out just an instant before the Eagles’ Samson Kenea was able to finish off the play and knock the ball into the back of the net, but the referees weren’t ready to leave the field, huddling for a decision that carried great importance.

“Whenever you think you’re going into the half at 1-0,” Newsome said, “2-0 is a big difference.”

The referees deemed that Aguilar’s initial shot had crossed the line before the clock hit zeroes and counted the goal.

Barah said after the match he thought the clock had run out — “We just didn’t have the horn,” he said — while Newsome let out a frustrated yell, one he would bellow twice more as the day progressed.

Free State continued to find opportunities in the second period. Nick Howard and Jacob Appleman found space in the attacking half, and Howard nearly set up a goal when he was brought down in the box by Aguilar, leading to a penalty.

Newsome stepped up to take the kick, but he sent it wide left of the goal. Moments earlier, he had taken a shot to the head on a deflected kick that led to the referee stopping play to take him out of the game, but he denied it had anything to do with that miss.

“I was flustered, to be honest,” Newsome said. “I should’ve given it off to my No. 2.

“I didn’t see it going my way, so that’s always in the back of your head. I tried to push that out, but yeah, I’m not going to lie, it was there.”

Free State didn’t play poorly. The Firebirds outshot the Eagles, 16-13, keeping in mind several of the Eagles’ shots were taken extremely far from the net.

But for one reason or another, the chances didn’t materialize. The Firebirds were held without a goal for the third straight match, something they’ll look to rectify heading into postseason play.

“We just need to get back to doing the things we’ve been doing the last couple weeks,” Barah said. “It’s now time to really buckle down.”