photo by: By David Rodish/Journal-World

LHS junior midfielder Indigo Comfort turns upfield after a defensive stop against Shawnee Mission West on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at Lawrence High School.

The Lawrence High School soccer team (7-4-1) began its season with five straight wins following a 0-0 tie against the defending champions in the season opener.

Things haven’t gone as well lately. The Lions went 2-4 in the middle six of their season, with a 5-0 loss to Shawnee Mission West on Tuesday night at home. Those five goals mainly came on set pieces and not during the regular flow of the game. Defending those moments is critical, and the Lions’ inability to do so put them behind against a good team.

“That’s tough,” LHS coach Joe Comparato said. “I feel like we played the soccer part of the game well.”

After the game, Comparato said that this was still the same team that started 5-0-1 and that the Lions have faced some of the toughest teams in the Sunflower League, which is already difficult to play in.

The team has suffered a dry spell offensively. Tuesday’s loss featured an inconsistent offensive presence that put the Lions in a hole they couldn’t escape. The Vikings scored twice in the first half and three times in the second.

“We’ve got to figure out how to finish and put some offense together against these tough teams,” Comparato said. “That’s what we talked about. The effort is there — they’re playing smart soccer. We put a ton of pressure on (the Vikings) toward the end of the game, but we couldn’t put it on frame.”

The playoffs are rapidly approaching, and the Lions will face these same teams that have challenged them through the middle third of the year.

Comparato said that the confidence level of the team hasn’t wavered. The Lions have lost to some of the top teams in the league, but Comparato also said that they’re on pace for one of the best records in recent history.

Even with an inconsistent offensive attack, the Lions will continue to be a tough team to play against. Comparato said that the team wanted to see if it could play with the top teams in the league, and that so far the team has shown that. Even in a 5-0 loss, the Lions held up in the free-flowing parts of the game.

“If we can maintain some momentum and keep everyone healthy, we will still be a dangerous team,” Comparato said. “We can play with anybody. We just need to have that game.”

The Lions will travel to Shawnee Mission South on Thursday before hosting Shawnee Mission East next Tuesday. That will be the toughest game left on the schedule, but the other teams won’t be ones to overlook. The Lions are going to have to gain some offensive momentum and finish in the final third of the field if they are to get back to the winning ways of the first third of the season.

“We’re still that team,” Comparato said, “and they know that.”