photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior midfielder Allie Gates cuts to the ball in a 4-1 loss to Olathe West on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at Free State High School.

Free State girls soccer lost its fifth match in a row in a 4-1 loss to Olathe West at home on Tuesday.

“If you don’t play your game, you’re playing somebody else’s,” Free State coach Tyson Heck said. “We’ve been struggling all season, and it’s difficult to watch knowing the girls are putting in the work that they do and fighting the battle of injuries that we have. It’s tough.”

The Firebirds have struggled to score this year, and that problem has become amplified in the team’s losing streak as injuries have kept some offensive pieces sidelined. Free State has three games with two or more goals and hasn’t scored more than once per game during the team’s current skid.

It was a slow start offensively for the Firebirds against the Owls, as the team had a difficult time possessing the ball and getting into scoring opportunities. The Firebirds tried to push the ball on some long passes deep into the final third of the field, but those deep passes didn’t prove fruitful.

“We’ve struggled being able to release the ball and get shots off, and that’s something we work on for the better part of our practices,” Heck said. “It’s about creating that space and time to get a shot opportunity, but key components of our team are missing, and we get in our head too much.”

The Firebirds made a few defensive stops at the start of the first half, but the Owls were able to keep the ball in the Firebirds’ defensive third for several scoring chances. Eventually, with 14 minutes left on the clock in the first half, the Owls scored the first goal of the game after a corner kick pass set up the goal.

Free State had a couple of strong saves over the next few minutes, but the Owls scored again on a breakaway goal with under two minutes on the clock. Free State had a free kick from sophomore defender Zoe Prier that bounced right of the goal but was a close opportunity to get a shot on the goal.

The second half was more of the same, but the Free State offense started to put more pressure on Olathe West. The Firebirds got their goal 11 minutes into the second half when freshman midfielder Della Wedel scored after a pass in front of the net in the penalty area opened up space for a shot.

A silver lining for Free State with the injuries has been the young Firebirds who have gotten more experience playing varsity soccer, including Wedel, who is mostly a junior varsity player. Heck said that the energy the young players like Wedel have provided has been a boost for the Firebirds.

“The future is bright, not to say that this is dimming,” Heck said. “We’ve got a lot of really good talent coming up from the JV team, and Della has stepped up a lot. There’s a few more of them that I’d like to see more action out of.”

Olathe West quickly responded to the goal with a score of their own six minutes later on a shot that crossed the front of the goal to sneak in on the right side. The Owls cemented their win with a fourth goal with under five minutes left on the clock to take the 4-1 lead.

Free State will be on the road on Olathe South on Thursday, for the team’s second and final game of the week. After that, the Firebirds will have three games left, two of which will be at home, on the schedule before the postseason begins.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior Cara Jeffries passes the ball in a 4-1 loss to Olathe West on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at Free State High School.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State sophomore defender Zoe Prier runs to defend in a 4-1 loss to Olathe West on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at Free State High School.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior forward Siena Schamberger takes the ball in a 4-1 loss to Olathe West on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at Free State High School.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior midfielder Riley Prier kicks the ball in a 4-1 loss to Olathe West on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at Free State High School.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior defender Amelia Lang defends in a 4-1 loss to Olathe West on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at Free State High School.