The De Soto High School boys’ soccer team lost 3-1 against a tough Lawrence Free State team at home on Sept. 12. The Wildcats rose to the stiff competition early, but couldn’t hold the lead late in the game. This is the team’s first home loss since 2014.

Sophomore Daniel Apple put DHS ahead early with a chip shot over the keeper off of a powerful throw-in by junior Ethan Rodriguez, but Free State came out firing in the second half. They scored the tying point a mere three minutes out of halftime and overtook the Wildcats with two consecutive goals with eight minutes remaining.

“I thought we were the better team in the first half,” said head coach Jesse Smith. “Maybe we were a little surprised by that.”

Lawrence Free State traditionally has a strong soccer program, and is also classified as a 6A school by KSHSAA.

“The [Frontier] league can sometimes be too easy for us, so a good game like this really tests how good we are,” said Apple. “It’s important to our season and our success.”

Moving forward, the team hopes to address the flaws that the stronger competition brought out.

“If we clean up some mistakes, I think we could’ve won that game,” Smith said.

Boys’ Soccer returns to league competition when they play their next game against Louisburg at home on Sept. 13.