photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World photo

Free State senior midfielder Joon Chun fights off an LHS defender during the matchup against Lawrence High on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021.

In front of a packed house of red- and green-clad fans from both sides, the Free State boys soccer team picked up a 4-0 city showdown victory over LHS on Tuesday night at FSHS.

Led by a senior-heavy attack on senior night, the Firebirds (7-6-2) scored three goals in a 14-minute span to blow open a game that was tied at 0 at the half.

Senior Andrew Henderson picked up the Firebirds’ first goal, capitalizing on an LHS miscue and racing down a loose ball before carrying it to the net and beating the LHS keeper just inside the post.

“Just get to it and get to the goal,” said Henderson when asked what went through his mind when he saw the ball rolling free in the LHS zone.

Henderson’s goal came on the back end of a collision near the Free State box that left the LHS sideline asking for a foul.

“It’s a game of moments,” LHS coach Brandon Daley said after the loss. “If we had capitalized on one of those early ones, maybe we’re experiencing (the celebration) tonight.”

Less than three minutes after Henderson broke the scoreless tie, it looked as if the Lions (6-9) had avoided trouble after a Free State corner kick. However, LHS failed to clear the zone and a deflected ball landed at the foot of Free State senior Joon Chun, who wasted no time in ripping a shot toward the net.

“They say (if) you shoot, good things happen,” Chun said after the victory. “The ball came out, I had the opening and shot it.”

LHS captain Josh Anderson, who was vocal on the field and the Lions’ sideline throughout the night — and seemed to get louder and more positive the larger the deficit grew — said the first goal hurt but that the second goal was the killer.

“After the first, we knew we could still come back,” Anderson said. “But then the second one came and it was kind of like, ‘Oh, no. Here we go.'”

Despite the outcome, Anderson said he was proud of the way his team competed all night.

“We obviously wanted to win,” he said. “But we showed some growth and we didn’t give up.”

After staking Free State to a 2-0 lead, Henderson and Chun factored into the scoring one more time to put the game away.

With the Firebirds playing with the kind of confidence brought about by a two-goal lead, senior Dawson Pfannenstiel carried the ball through the midfield and played a perfect pass to Henderson on the left wing. After carrying it long enough to force the LHS goalie to commit, Henderson crossed the ball to a charging Chun, who buried it in the back of the net to give the Firebirds a 3-0 lead with 16:28 to play.

FSHS freshman JJ Zheng crashed the senior night party with 5:15 remaining by finishing a perfect pass through the middle and into the box from senior Evan Wilson to set the final margin.

“We were very ready to come out and play,” Henderson said. “And when that first goal went in the floodgates opened from there.”

First-year Free State coach Joe Waldron said he could tell before the match that this one was different than the other games his team had played this season.

“Normally before we play, I go through a scouting report of the opponent and their strengths and weaknesses,” Waldron said. “But today I turned the tables and I let the players tell me. I could just gauge their focus then, and their scouting report was spot on.”

Players and coaches from both sides applauded the crowd and said playing in such an electric environment added to Tuesday’s fun.

“We had a great student section,” Chun said. “And we were just feeding off the energy of the crowd.”

Added Waldron: “This was awesome. I wish we could have a crowd like this for every one of our home games.”

Tuesday’s game marked the final regular season home game for nine FSHS seniors: Henderson, Pfannenstiel, Wilson, Aydan Works, Aaron Neff, Logan Schwab, Jackson Bone, Suyash Kumar and Jacoby Sieber. All nine started, including Works in goal.

While Waldron and the FSHS crowd were thrilled for the seniors in green, Daley said he ached for his seniors in red and black.

“It definitely sucks to send our seniors out that way against Free State,” he said. “But we’ve got our own senior night on Thursday and then we’ve got regionals after that. I told the guys after the game that if we go win a regional plaque, they’ll remember that a lot longer than losing this one.”

The LHS seniors who will be honored on Thursday are: Anderson, Aiden Berndsen-Perez, Dominic Chieu, Logan Craig, Hunter Glanton, Grant Glasgow, Colyn Heck, Levi Hinson, Josh King, Sam Micka, Zach Micka, Manu Redd, Camden Schwarz, Jamari Smith, Connor Thornton and Jackson Yanek.