Overland Park ? Shawnee Mission West might have been the last team in the Class 6A Northeast Regional that Lawrence High’s girls soccer team wanted to see in its postseason opener.

But there were the Vikings, the same team that beat LHS by 10 on April 17, on the other side of the field Tuesday night at Shawnee Mission District Soccer Complex, ready to pick up a third straight mercy-rule victory against the Lions, who suffered the same fate against SMW last spring.

The No. 13 seed in 6A’s Northeast, Lawrence didn’t have the fire power to beat or keep up with No. 4 seed SMW in a 7-0 loss, but the Lions held the Vikings to two first-half goals while avoiding the embarrassment of another 10-score deficit and left the field feeling much better about the state of the program than they have in years.

Obviously, second-year Lawrence coach Justin Young wasn’t thrilled about the outcome. That didn’t mean he lacked pride after the performance, though.

“The positive is that our defense played well,” Young said. “They came out, they played aggressive, they played physical. They did the job we’ve been asking them to do all season.”

With Lions such as Danielle Campbell, Keeli Billings and Elaine Harris helping the defense keep the Vikings (12-5) from capitalizing on many pushes during a 19-shot first half, Hannah Miller and Meenakshi Allada were the only two SMW players to score against LHS senior goalkeeper Alex Ewy in the first 40 minutes.

Lawrence (6-11) couldn’t keep that up in the second half, though. Vikings senior Morgan Mauck, who wears No. 29 for her late boyfriend, SMW football player and Kansas commit Andre Maloney, who died last fall, scored a hat trick in the second half. She put in two goals in the first four minutes after the break, giving SMW all the momentum and separation it needed.

Megan Luginsland and Delaney Griffin scored in the second half, too. Young said SMW played a proactive, quick style that unsettled Lawrence’s defense.

“It keeps us on our heels most of the time,” the coach said, “as opposed to letting us try to dictate a situation.”

That made Ewy’s job even more trying, but she came away with nine saves. A starter in goal since her freshman year at LHS, she has seen the program struggle. The Lions went 8-41-1 in the previous three seasons. Next year, she’ll be playing at Emporia State, but she’ll be interested to see how Lawrence keeps improving, because the players have taken on a new mental approach.

“I think this year we built a really good foundation for next year,” the senior said.

After a one-win spring in 2013, Billings said six victories felt like real progress, even if the season ended with a difficult loss.

“We’re all really proud of ourselves for changing what we’ve done so much,” the junior said.

Young, too, left looking forward to the future.

“It begins that all-important culture change that we need,” the coach said, “to believe there’s an opportunity to win.”