Free State High junior Charlie Newsome (5) uses his head to score off a corner kick after finding a hole in the Topeka High defense during their first round regional soccer match Monday evening at FSHS.

With only one win in the last eight games of the regular season, Free State High senior Heitor Nazareth admitted the spirit of the boys soccer team needed to change.

“We’ve been doing activities to bring the team together more and be happy,” Nazareth said. “We had a bonfire, and went to the pumpkin (patch). I really think that stuff helped a lot.”

Nazareth said he thought the team played much happier on Monday night, and it showed in a 3-1 home win over No. 9-seed Topeka High in the first round of regionals at FSHS.

Nazareth, junior Charlie Newsome and sophomore Rowan Laufer all scored goals for the eighth-seeded Firebirds.

“We played really well,” FSHS coach Kelly Barah said. “We were able to control the ball do some things that we had got away from at the tail end of the season, and especially in the last game of the season.”

Offensively, the Firebirds (8-7-2) were able to use throughballs to their advantage, and Barah said that was something they had success with in practice. Nazareth, along with Laufer, senior Brennan Clark and Branden Patterson spearheaded a constant attack all game with their passing.

“Our ability to be able to find the entry passes and the right angles was key,” Barah said. “Our players did exactly what they were supposed to do so that was nice to see.”

The Firebirds’ first goal of the game came in the 10th minute when Newsome was able to rise above Topeka defenders for a header off a corner kick. In the 37th minute, Nazareth was fouled by the Topeka goalie in the 18-yard box going after a throughball, which set up a penalty kick that Rowan converted to give Free State a 2-0 lead.

After a corner kick and a chance on goal to begin the second half, Nazareth nailed a goal from outside the box in the 57th minute to give Free State a 3-0 advantage.

“Today, I was like, ‘I’m going to play my heart out, because it could be my last game,'” Nazareth said. “I came out full of energy, and I just wanted to get my teammates goals and get a win.”

Defensively, Barah was pleased with his team’s performance. Outside of a goal scored in the 77th minute on a corner kick, Topeka didn’t have any chances on goal because it never had the ball in an attacking position on defense.

“Our defense started with our forwards being able to pressure the ball and make sure there were no entry passes to their forwards,” Barah said. “Our defenders didn’t really have to do that much because our forwards were able to help out.”

Free State will play the winner of Dodge City and Wichita Southeast on Thursday. If Free State has to play Dodge City, which is undefeated and the No. 1 overall seed, Barah is confident that the tough competition his team has faced all season will have them prepared.

“We’ve played every kind of game,” Barah said. “We’ve come from behind, and we’ve scored in the last couple of seconds. We’ve played some really good competition in the Sunflower League, so we’re not scared to go down there (Dodge City) and give it a whirl.”