Soccer Game Preview: Lawrence Free State vs. Lawrence

The Lawrence Free State Firebirds will head out on the road to square off against the Lawrence Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lawrence Free State has three straight wins, Lawrence has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the pitch.

Lawrence Free State barely beat Shawnee Mission North the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Firebirds never let the Bison get on the board and left with an 8-0 victory on Tuesday. With that win, Lawrence Free State brought their scoring average up to 3.2 goals per game.

Their offense was hitting Shawnee Mission North from everywhere, as six different players booted in a goal. Taylor Woods led that balanced group of strikers and accounted for three goals all by herself.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Lawrence took on Shawnee Mission Northwest on Tuesday. The Lions fell 3-1 to the Cougars.

Lawrence now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Lawrence Free State, their victory bumped their record up to 3-1.

Lawrence Free State took their win against Lawrence when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 4-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Firebirds since the team won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.