EDWARDSVILLE – The Edwardsville High School girls field hockey team got two goals each from Quiana Johnson, Jessica Glenn, and Mattie Norton as the Tigers blanked Rosati-Kain Catholic of south St. Louis City 8-0 in a game played Wednesday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
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Rachel Goebel and Gabbi Trauernicht also scored for Edwardsville as the Tigers improved their record on the season to 3-1-1 in their home opener. Edwardsville opened the season going 2-1-1 in the Gateway Classic played over Labor Day weekend in Maryland Heights, Mo.
A previous game against the Kougars on Saturday was rained out after 20 minutes with Edwardsville taking a 1-0 win.
“It was nice to play a whole game against them,” said Tigers head coach Jaimee Phegley, “The girls moved the ball really well today, and Leah Griffin (the Edwardsville goalie) only had one save today. It shows how much we had control of the game.”
The fact that three different players had multiple goals was also very pleasing to Phegley.
“They were all scored by different girls,” Phegley said. “Getting multiple goal scorers from different girls was very good.”
Johnson, Goebel, Trauernicht, Glenn, Norton, and Griffin are a part of a veteran-laden lineup for the Tigers that also includes the injured Kailey Noud, who’s expected back next week. Lindsay Ahlers, Tessa Bunselmeyer, Abreya Deckard, Olivia Fensterman, Mak Keller, Hannah Kramer, Ashlyn Krait and Lauren McGarr are the other seniors on the Tigers roster.
“We have a lot of experience, and the entire starting lineup has played varsity for at least two years,” Phegley said. “We have a very strong team, and we’re very optimistic about this season.”
The schedule includes many of the St. Louis area’s best teams, such as Ladue, Ursuline Academy, and Kirkwood, among others.
“We have some challenging games this year,” Phegley said.
And being the only field hockey team in Metro-East, and one of the few programs outside of Chicagoland, interest in the sport is very high.
“It would be nice if we had some teams in Illinois near us,” Phegley said, “but I think our interest is high because it’s a rare program over here.”
The Tigers’ goal for the 2019 season is to be in the St. Louis top-15, and to do well in the end of the season Metro Tournament, considered the St. Louis area’s championship. Both the IHSA and the Missouri State High School Activities Association don’t have a state tournament series for field hockey.
“Our goal is to be in the top 15, and that comes from your record,” Phegley said, “so we just have to keep winning.”
And expectations, enthusiasm, and optimism can be all found in equal amounts in the Tigers’ program this year.
“We’re really prepared for the season,’ Phegley said, “and we think it’s going to be the best one in many years.”
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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