Last Friday, the EHS Boys soccer team traveled to Chicago to play in the IHSA State Finals and returned home with the ultimate victory: the state title.
The competition began for the Tigers on Friday night when they played against Naperville Central High School. The game ended with a 3-1 victory for Edwardsville, which meant the Tigers would continue on to play Saturday for the state title against Wheeling High School.
On Saturday, the Tigers had an exciting 2-1 victory as they claimed their title as the best 3A boys soccer team in Illinois.
But the right to claim their title was not easily won. The journey to the state game was long and challenging. Varsity coach Mark Heiderscheid had done several things to prepare the team for an outstanding season.
“We began training hard back in summer workouts which included skills and weight training,” Heiderscheid said.
The boys worked every day all week, practicing, scrimmaging, or playing an actual game.
“The main thing was that we relied on each other,” junior Liam Burke said. “We made each other better.”
To outsmart other teams, during practices the Tigers would work against the competition’s tactics that they scouted throughout the season.
The boys worked hard in practice, but it was also the games against “stiff competition” during the regular season that prepared them for tough games they would encounter later.
“The last game against Wheeling was especially tough,” Mr. Heiderscheid said. “They have the number one player in the state of Illinois on their team.”
This is Mr. Heiderscheid’s second state title, the previous title being earned in 2000.
“To win a state title is an honor,” Mr. Heiderscheid said. “It’s very rare to win a state title, let alone two.”
When the clock ran out of time on Saturday, the players shared the same excitement as Mr. Heiderscheid and all of the Tiger fans that attended the game.
“It was the greatest moment of my life,” junior Landon Paul said. “There is nothing better than winning something you have worked your whole life for.”
