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EDWARDSVILLE - It was senior night for the Edwardsville Tigers soccer team as they hosted the Alton Redbirds at District 7 Sports Complex in Edwardsville on Saturday night.
With 19:59 left in the match, play was stopped due to a lightning strike in the distance. By rule, the game had to be put on hold for 30 minutes. However, Edwardsville head coach Mark Heiderscheid and Alton's head coach Nick Funk decided to conclude the match.
The Tigers won 6-0 and improved to 8-2-3 and clinched the Southwestern Conference title with a 4-0 record.
“When you look at our finishing it was highlight stuff,” Heiderscheid said. “This is not the first time we’ve been able to do a good job this year in that regard. When we click, we got a number of attacking that can get it done.”
Four minutes into the game, Alton was the first to create a good chance as Edwardsville goalkeeper, Andrew Wike was forced into a save. The Tigers put together a counter-attack, and Josh Reed got behind the Redbirds back line and slotted a shot into the goal.
Thirty-six seconds later, Bryce Glisson was in on goal, faked a shot with his right foot, and smashed the ball with his left into the back of the net to give the Tigers a quick 2-0 lead.
Ethan Miracle scored off a corner kick by A.J. Sullivan with 20:39 minutes to go in the first half. Miracles connected on his first touch of the ball and drilled it into the upper right-hand corner of the goal.
Just under 12 minutes later, the Tigers won a penalty and Sullivan calmly sent the keeper the wrong way with his shot and made it 4-0 Edwardsville.
In the second half, Sullivan and Miracle continued the onslaught by adding two more goals game within two minutes of each other. Miracle now has 13 goals in 13 games for the season while Sullivan has been a strong influence in midfield.
“This shows where A.J. Sullivan just continues to get better,” Heiderscheid said. “Everybody knew [they] had to worry about Ethan because he’s a busy player. He’s got so many goals this year. Sullivan is a guy who didn’t play as much soccer throughout the summer. He keeps getting more fit and better all the time. That really bodes well for us.”
Heiderscheid has been impressed with senior midfielder Bryce Broshow all season long with his skillset to recycle possession and tackle.
“His ability to control things in midfield just glues everything,” Heiderscheid said. “He’s kind of under-noted in terms of his value in our team."
Andrew Wike returned in goal for the Tigers after spending most of the season sidelined by injury.
13 Edwardsville seniors were honored before the game:
Kenneth Bond, Broshow, Patrick Doolin, Glisson, Seth Goodman, Miracle, Reed, Adam Sneed, Sullivan, Tyler Tepen, Nate Waple, and Wike.
“It feels great,” Miracle said. “Being able to play in front of such great fans, especially on your senior night, it feels more special. Being able to help your team going forward and be conference champs for two years in a row is always a great feeling.”
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