EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville boys soccer striker Cooper Nolan had a great match at the team’s annual Orange and Black scrimmage Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, scoring a goal and hitting the inside of the far post early on in the first half as the varsity defeated the junior varsity 6-0.
Both teams played very well, and that bodes exceptionally well for the upcoming season which starts in the Nike bracket of the Metro Cup Tournament in Columbia.
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“Tonight, both teams played great, of course,” Nolan said during a post-scrimmage interview. “And I feel like this year, to last year, we actually played more as a team, we passed the ball, played the ball through. Just more of a team this year. And we played great, everyone did their job, some injuries.”
Nolan thinks that the Tigers have a very good chance of taking the Nike bracket of the Metro Cup tournament.
“Well, after looking at the game we just played, I think our chances are fairly high,” Nolan said. “Playing great, and I hope we play even better at the cup.”
As are the rest of the Tigers, Nolan is using as motivation the heartbreaking loss to Collinsville at Kahok Stadium in the IHSA Class 3A sectional semifinal 2-1, when the Kahoks scored three seconds from full time.
“It’s always a motivation,” Nolan said. “We’re already talking about it, day one. I have a feeling this year, we’re going to beat them.
Nolan also likes his team’s chances of winning the Tigers’ third state championship and its first since 2013.
“Every year, we think we’re going to win the thing,” Nolan said. “You’ve just got to think big.”
Nolan’s personal goals for the 2019 season are very much team-oriented and is always looking to improve.
“My personal goals are to be more of a team player,” Nolan said. “Come back more, be more of a backboard for my teammates. Just make more runs through.”
And as far as the team goals, Nolan is looking to improve in the smaller aspects of the game, such as communication and possession.
“Team goals are to talk more out on the field and cooperate more,” Nolan said. “Just have more possession than the other team, like we so every single year. Just pass the ball, play with the ball, whatever we need to do.”
And Nolan feels that he and the Tigers are raring to go on Monday and get things underway.
“We all are ready at the start,” Nolan said. “We’ve been waiting for this all summer.”
