SEE ETHAN MIRACLE INTERVIEW:
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville boys soccer senior Ethan Miracle provided a spark with his performance in Tuesday night’s Tiger home and Southwestern Conference opener against Belleville East at Tiger Stadium.
Miracle had a brace, or two goals, in EHS’ 6-1 win over the Lancers. “Getting two goals is always an amazing feeling,” Miracle said. “You should strive for that third goal; it keeps your confidence up and it’s really a great feeling.”
Miracle’s goals game in the 48th and 75th minutes; the first goal gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead on the Lancers, while the second goal restored a two-goal lead at 3-1.
Miracle gave plenty of credit to his teammates for his night. “You’ve got to give some praise to the players out there,” Miracle said. “Obviously, when it’s 6-1, there are other players scoring; it’s a huge team effort to come back after having them cut the lead in half to 2-1; being able to push through to get it to 6-1 is amazing teamwork.”
Miracle’s second goal came “on a great hold-up by Bryce Glissen,” he said. “He was able to keep the ball on a great flick-through; he was able to play it across the (penalty) box and I was able to put it (to the) back post; on the first one, the keeper came out and I was able to keep calm and slide it to the back post.”
Tuesday’s match was the first one played on the new turf installed over the summer at Tiger Stadium. “It’s an awesome surface,” Miracle said. “It helps you play better; you’re able to ping the ball around, especially with such talented players that we have here – it makes it really easier for us.”
Going 1-1-1 in last weekend’s Alton Round-Robin Tournament and Tuesday’s win that put Edwardsville at 1-0 in the SWC is something the Tigers can work off of, Miracle feels. “Coming off of last year, winning the (SWC), it sets really high standards for us in this next season,” Miracle said. “I think we have the capability to go much further than we did last year (the Tigers won their own IHSA Class 3A regional tournament before being eliminated by Collinsville in the Rock Island Sectional semifinals); we need to keep our team chemistry together, really meld as a team and do what needs to be done.”
Edwardsville visits CBC at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in a battle of two traditional St. Louis-area high school soccer heavyweights.
More like this:
