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EDWARDSVILLE - Conner Kelly struck in the third minute, Adam Boykin scored past the midway point of the half and Gavin Walls scored on a beautifully placed free kick from the edge of the box right at the stroke of halftime, then the Tiger defense took over and played well as Edwardsville defeated Marquette Catholic 3-0 in a boys soccer match Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers' defense played solidly in the second half, rarely allowing the Explorers a chance, and when Marquette did have the opportunity, goalies Kadin Chiapelli and Grant Toby were there to make the save. And the clean sheet was very important for Edwardsville on the day.
"I think it was good to get a clean sheet," said Edwardsville head coach Mark Heiderscheid, "because it's early season, I think trying to get kids organized and that, I think it's just a challenge, just because of the long layoff. When you really look at it, to me, so many kids haven't played in a year-and-a-half as far as a real game, we step out. But, as you can see by today, I was really impressed with Marquette's ability to work the ball. I thought the processed it around the field very well, I thought that their physicality was really good. And so, I was a little taken aback, because I was very impressed. I knew they had a combination of some seniors I know very well from youth ball, to some younger ones. So, I was coming in, I was like 'wow.' It was, like, really tough for us to break them down.
But having said so, we were very good in terms of getting those critical moments at critical times," Heiderscheid continued. "Conner Kelley did it once again, where's he able to get free, right in those early moment of the game, and bury a shot. That's huge for us. We get the second goal, of course, which is nice, because you get some spread. And then, as I said before, those critical moments where (Brennan) Weller ends up getting free right at the end of the half, he gets clipped, then Gavin Walls, it was a shocking free kick that he's able to go ahead and bury at the back post, because we usually don't get those that much. So, yeah, three was good. We had some other decent chances, but our goalkeeper had some good saves, and, of course, it was challenging, because they were so well-organized, I think. But I think for our part, our defense, albeit still very unseasoned, did a very good job of limiting chances."
Heiderscheid, as with everyone else, feels very happy and blessed that the season is being played this spring after so much uncertainty, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Without a doubt," Heiderscheid said. "I look at this game here, and once again, by early in the second half, everybody has played, our whole bench was there. And we've got a very large bench," he said with a hearty laugh. "And so, it's nice that in the first five, 10 minutes, I've got really good clock for all twenty-something players that were sitting over here that are on our roster, including both goalkeepers. So I think, yeah, it just is. It gives kids such a great opportunity to play the game, and I think for both teams, it's nice. I get to have a good conversation with Jonah Fahnestock, who's an Alton Marquette senior, before the game. I just think being able to play, it's kind of such a beautiful thing, especially given so much that these poor kids have not been able to under circumstances. It's sacrifices to help all society; I do understand that. But at the same time, it's very nice for them to be able to have some normalcy, too, in their lives, and do something they've been look so forward to doing, and they get to go out on a pitch, and play and have fun."
First-year Marquette head coach Jerry DiSalvo was very complimentary of the Tigers and how they played throughout.
"Edwardsville's a very well-coached team," DiSalvo said, "they have a lot of talent, they move the ball very well, they exploit the flanks, and they did a very nice job today."
Although things didn't go all that well for the Explorers, there's still many positives that came out from the game.
"It was a very tough game for us," DiSalvo said. "We played good for about 20 minutes, we played within our means, we moved the ball. What happens is we kind of got away from that, Edwardsville's a very athletic team, we can't try to outdribble them, we can't try to outrun them, we quit moving the ball. And as a result of that, the game kind of got lopsided."
The goal scored by the Tigers at the end of the first half proved to be critical, but all three Edwardsville goals were very tough to give up for Marquette.
"They're all tough," DiSalvo said. "The first goal, we gave up within the first five minutes. Those goals that are given up within the first and last five minutes of any half. We mentally were not prepared, and they came back and capitalized on it; good teams do that. Second goal, in my opinion, he was clearly off-side by about five yards, but I wasn't wearing yellow, so we have to abide by that. Then on that last goal, I think it was a crippler. I don't think they should have taken that, the play was dead, the clock goes. But that's the way the game goes. Yeah, that goal hurt."
The second half did produce some opportunities for the Explorers, but they couldn't take advantage of them.
"We had chances, and we had opportunities to score," DiSalvo said. "We didn't capitalize on it. Good teams capitalize when they have to, we didn't do it, and as a result, you can't win."
The Tigers struck for their first goal in the third minute, when Kelley took a great through ball, got past the central defense and struck his shot to the far corner, where goalie Preston Stork had no chance to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. In the 25th minute, Boykin got another good through pass, got past the defense, and hit a shot that hit off the right-side goalpost, but the ball had enough backspin to deflect off the post and go into the net to make it 2-0 for the Tigers.
Right before the end of the half, Weller had a chance all alone, but was brought down at the edge of the box by Stork, and the clock ran out. After the officials discussed the play, a free kick was called, and Stork was booked for the tackle, forcing him to go off and temporarily replaced by Chad Tesson. Walls hit the ball in a curving motion, going in at the far post as the siren sounded, giving the Tiger a 3-0 lead at the interval.
Marquette kept plugging away in the second half, perhaps their best chance coming in the 54th minutes, when a shot from distance was caught nicely by Toby to keep the score 3-0. In the 55th minute, another great chance for the Explorers was stopped by Toby, The Tiger defense played very stellar the rest of the way to preserve the 3-0 win, with both Chiapelli and Toby sharing the clean sheet.
The Explorers are now 3-2-1, and start a three-game home stand Monday against Breese Central Monday, Granite City on Wednesday and Quincy Notre Dame on Thursday. DiSalvo is very happy to be playing and having the season, and looks forward to what's ahead for his side.
"Yeah," DiSalvo said. "You know, part of it is we have so many games, we don't have time to practice, either. So between all the games and weather, we have limited practices. So with a team like us, we have to continue to reinforce things, and if you can't do that, it breaks down, and we haven't had a chance to go back and fix things."
But hope does indeed still spring internal for the Explorers.
"Absolutely," DiSalvo said. "Great day today, beautiful, gorgeous that we were able to be outside and play."
The Tigers' 100 percent record stays intact at 4-0-0, and they face a good challenge at O'Fallon Tuesday night, beginning a four game road trip that includes stops at Belleville West, Collinsville and Alton.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
