EDWARDSVILLE - Junior striker Cole Sitton scored the only goal of the match in the 66th minute off a missed clearance to give Edwardsville's boys soccer team a 1-0 win over Alton in the Tigers' long-delayed home opener Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
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Stton's strike came after a clearance attempt hit off him, and Sitton was able to react well to the mistake and buried the opportunity to give the Tigers all three points.
The Tigers, as all of the other teams across the area and state, opened the season after limited practice time, and it makes things difficult for al involved.
"It's challenging," Edwardsville head coach Mark Heiderscheid said, "because for all the teams, there was about only one week to prepare for the season, and it's very different. And for a variety of reasons, we were missing most of our backfield, but it gave us an opportunity to try a different formation."
The Tigers went with a 4-4-3 formation instead of their usual 3-5-2, and going with different formations isn't new to Heiderscheid.
"I tinkered with before last year," Heiderscheid said. "It was a 4-1-4-1 in the first seven years, then it was a flat 4-4-2, then a 4-1-4-1. Last year, I tinkered with it because of personnel. I had to adapt today, and made a decision to consult with the players."
The formation worked well, as the Tigers defended very well. The Redbirds also decided to concentrate on defending as well, waiting for a chance to attack when presented.
The goal came after 66 minutes, when an errant clearance hit Sitton in the leg. Sitton pounced on the ball, looked for an opening and slotted it in to open his varsity account with his first goal that the Tigers the 1-0 lead. The Tigers then made the goal stand up and gained the win.
It made a winner of Tiger keeper Kaden Chiapelli, who had his first varsity win and clean sheet. Owen Macias made 11 saves in goal for the Redbirds.
The Redbirds are now 0-2-0, and have their home opener Tuesday against Belleville West in a 6:30 p.m. kickoff, while the Tigers are 2-0-0, and host Belleville East in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
