In what has become somewhat of a common occurrence, the Free State girls soccer team on Thursday night again found itself battling a tough opponent in overtime.

And, this time, the Firebirds came up on the wrong side of the final score, falling 2-1 to Olathe West at FSHS.

The visitors scored first, picking up a goal in the first half to take a 1-0 lead into the second half. And, for a while, it looked as if that was all the Owls would need.

But the Firebirds (7-4-1) kept fighting and eventually broke through when Sydni Beeley scored a game-tying goal on an assist from Kate Odgers with just under 16 minutes to play.

The equalizer came after the Firebirds just missed on three golden chances in the minutes leading up to the big goal, firing two shots high and watching a penalty kick, by Beeley of all people, stuffed by the Olathe West goalkeeper.

Beeley’s late goal and a back-and-forth battle that followed sent the game to OT and the game looked destined to end in a tie. But with just under three minutes to play, the Firebirds had trouble clearing the ball from their defensive zone and Olathe West’s Emily Hutchings made them pay with the game-winner at 2:57.

The Firebirds will return to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Olathe North.