photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior forward Suret Qutlan dribbles the ball in a 2-0 loss to Olathe East on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Olathe.

Olathe — Free State boys soccer fell 2-0 to Olathe East on Tuesday, dropping the Firebirds’ record to 3-5-1.

“The boys have obviously had some struggles lately, but the one thing I think we continue to take away is that they don’t stop playing as a team,” Free State coach Tyson Heck said. “They realize they play a lot better together. We’re possessing well, we’re passing well. But credit to that goalie, he had three or four really impressive saves.”

The Firebirds have hit a mid season rough patch, having lost their last four games. Against an undefeated Olathe East team, their woes continued.

“This game shouldn’t be a defining point for us,” senior midfielder Caleb Huggins said. “We can get past it and keep moving forward and keep pushing through.”

Almost halfway through the first half, Olathe East seemingly scored a goal on a header from a corner kick, but the goal was disallowed on a penalty. The Hawks bounced back to score with less than five minutes in the half on a goal through the middle of the defense.

The Hawks scored their second goal at the start of the second half on an 18 yard kick to the top of the net.

Free State competed hard in the game but wasn’t able to score for the third straight game. The offense did put a few good shots on goal, moving the ball through the midfield and up to the final third but weren’t able to finish on opportunities to get a ball in the net.

“I saw today a massive improvement,” senior midfielder Eli Stone said. “(Olathe East) looked really good, but we competed with them every minute of the game. End-to-end, this team played with a lot of effort, and going forward, if we play with this kind of effort we can net one or two (goals).”

Free State continued to hunt for a goal and even had one of its best opportunities late in the game. The Firebirds had a shot that got above the hands of Olathe East’s goalkeeper but was too high to fall inside the net.

Despite the lack of scoring, Heck was pleased with how the team fought to the end. Senior Cooper Keefer battled in a one-on-one right at the goal area in the final minute, preventing the Hawks from running up the score.

“I don’t think we ever stopped competing,” Heck said. “It wasn’t like we weren’t trying, we just weren’t getting there.”

The Firebirds have seven games left in the regular season, six of which are Sunflower League opponents. Free State will be back at home on Thursday to host Shawnee Mission East at 7 p.m.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior forward Trenton Cozadd brings the ball upfield in a 2-0 loss to Olathe East on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Olathe.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior forward Kaiden Helm jumps to get the ball in a 2-0 loss to Olathe East on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Olathe.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior forward Suret Qutlan fights to get to the ball in a 2-0 loss to Olathe East on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Olathe.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior forward Trenton Cozadd works to break up a pass in a 2-0 loss to Olathe East on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Olathe.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior defenseman Raleigh Jeter runs to get the ball in a 2-0 loss to Olathe East on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Olathe.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior midfielder Neel Sabarwal runs to play defense in a 2-0 loss to Olathe East on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Olathe.