photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State freshman defender Zoe Prier collides with a Shawnee Mission South Raider in a 3-2 loss to Shawnee Mission South on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Lawrence.

Free State finished its girls soccer regular season with a 3-2 loss to Shawnee Mission South on Thursday.

The Firebirds started slow, which made a comeback difficult. The team did fight back and brought the game down to the wire, but the Firebirds were unsuccessful in taking the win.

“We caught ourselves outmatched emotionally and at every level for the first 20 or 30 minutes,” Free State coach Joe Waldron said. “We fixed that in the last 10 minutes of the first half, but I wish we started that way. We can’t turn back time and fix our mistakes, but we can make sure it doesn’t happen the next time.”

The Raiders twice in the opening half, including one in the first five minutes. The Firebirds were unable to score in the first half, but the team started to build some momentum and possess the ball in the latter minutes of the first half.

“We’re still learning to connect our offense with the midfield,” Waldron said.

In the first few minutes of the second half, the Shawnee Mission South goalkeeper fell hard and had to leave the game. The Firebirds found some success with Siena Schamberger pushing the pace along the sideline, but it wasn’t until 30 minutes after the start of the second half that the Firebirds were able to put the ball in the net.

Junior midfielder Riley Prier scored the first Free State goal on a corner kick that curved into the net.

The Firebirds couldn’t savor the goal for long. Thirty-one seconds after the goal, the Raiders put their third goal in the net. Free State senior goalkeeper Merrit Hale dove to stop a breakaway goal, but the rebound was loose while she was getting off the ground, and the Raiders were able to put it in.

Once again, Free State stayed resilient. Senior midfielder Neylana Haque scored 14 seconds after the Shawnee Mission South goal on a pass from across the face of the goal.

Three goals were scored in under a minute, and Free State emerged down one goal with under nine minutes to play in regulation. The Firebirds possessed well for the final minutes of the game and had a couple more shots on goal, but none went in.

The Firebirds finished the regular season with one of their best in school history. The team went 7-8-1 and finished the season 3-2-1 in May.

“We got better as the season went on,” Waldron said. “Our defense got better, our midfield got better. We’re still not where we want to be with possession and getting it to the final third, but we can be dangerous in moments. We have enough players to put the ball in the net at any moment. We don’t always play that way, but we’re capable of it.”

Last year’s regional soccer success gives the team a confidence boost. The team reached its first quarterfinal game a season ago and played some of its best soccer in the postseason.

“We’ve traveled long distances and knocked off top seeds,” Waldron said. “Hopefully, we can do that again.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State sophomore Siena Schamberger passes to a teammate in a 3-2 loss to Shawnee Mission South on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State sophomore forward Siena Schamberger passes to senior midfielder Neylana Haque in a 3-2 loss to Shawnee Mission South on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Lawrence.