EDWARDSVILLE - A first-half goal by Allie Tredway turned out to be the only goal of the match as O'Fallon's girls' soccer team dealt Edwardsville its first loss of the season 1-0 in a match that was abandoned right before the start of the second half due to heavy rain and lightning that passed through the St. Louis area Thursday night at Tiger Stadium.
It was a highly-anticipated match for the two sides, who were both undefeated going in, with the Tigers yet to give up a goal on the young season, having three straight clean sheets to start.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
"It was a disappointing outcome tonight," said Edwardsville head coach Abby Federmann. "I'm convinced we would have scored at least the equalizer in the second half."
The Tigers started well, but had a bit of confusion in the back line, and a mistake led to the O'Fallon goal.
"We started off possessing the ball and building our attack well in the first part of the first half," Federmann said. "We had some breakdowns defending their transition and they capitalized on a mistake."
The contest was a tight affair from the start, with both teams having good chances in the opening minutes. The Panthers had a good chance in the opening minute, but the attempt passed harmlessly across the goal mouth, while Edwardsville's Thea Dimitroff had a pair of chances in the fourth and ninth minute, but the first shot was handled by O'Fallon goalkeeper Kendall Joggerst and she couldn't get the second shot away as the match remained scoreless. 
The play was a bit physical, and in the 11th minute. O'Fallon's Avery Taake was shown the yellow card and booked for a hard foul on an Edwardsville player. The play settled down after that, and in the middle of the half, the Panthers tested the Edwardsville defense, with the back line coming through solidly and Tiger goalie Lainey Wiegers sliding out to stop an attack.
O'Fallon broke through in the 32nd minute, when Tredway took a pass on the left flank by Finley Scott, dribbled in, and took a shot that got through to the inside of the far post and into the side of the goal to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Both sides had another chance each but were stopped as the game went into halftime with O'Fallon in the lead.
Just before the kickoff of the second half, lightning was detected in the area and the officials took both sides off the pitch and the stadium was evacuated with predicted heavy rain about to move into the area, causing a mandatory 30-minute delay. The heavy rain began to fall shortly after and the match was eventually abandoned. Since it had reached halftime, by rule, it was declared an official game, with O'Fallon declared the winner by the 1-0 score.
Wiegers had five saves in goal for Edwardsville, while Joggerst made four saves for the Panthers.
O'Fallon is now 3-0-0 on the year, while the Tigers are now 3-1-0 and next play at home on Saturday morning against Cor Jesu Academy of Affton, Mo. in a 10:30 a.m. kickoff, then are at Belleville East next Tuesday in a 6:30 p.m. start and host Belleville West Apr. 4 in a 6:30 p.m. kickoff. Edwardsville will play the rematch against the Panthers on Apr. 13 in a 6:30 p.m. start at OTHS Panther Stadium.
"I wish my girls would have had an opportunity to fix some things and get after it in the second half," Federmann said. "I guess we will just have to come out better earlier the next time we see them."
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
More like this:
