The boys soccer team ended their season with a 1-0 loss to the Collinsville Kahoks at their regional final on Saturday Oct. 21.
The score was tied 0-0 in the first half, but the tie ended in the second half when Collinsville senior Adam Reiniger scored.
Reiniger has been voted the top player in Southern Illinois All-State voting for three years running.
Edwardsville’s offense made several attempts to tie the game back up, but they did not succeed.
Being such a high stakes game, both teams had to prepare themselves for the worst outcome. One team would advance in the postseason and the other would be bringing their year to an end; emotions were high.
“After the game it was just heartbreak and sadness,” senior Nate Loftus said. “Sadness for your teammates, for yourself, and just knowing that your high school soccer season is over.”
Similar to that of many varsity teams, the starters consist of mainly seniors, which means that their soccer career with Edwardsville High School has now come to a close.
Coach Mark Heiderscheid, having been the assistant coach for nine years and the head coach for 24, understands the complex emotions his athletes, especially the upperclassmen, are facing with their team’s loss.
“It is always hard to find the words at the end of a game because I am so despondent that another group of seniors is now graduating from my program, ” coach Heiderscheid said. “As a senior, your high school playing career is over, and we certainly had a number of tears shed at the end of the game.”
Although the game did not end in the way they hoped for, both Loftus and Heiderscheid spoke on improvements that were made throughout the season.
Coach Heiderscheid said that he had noticed progress in the team’s ability to finish goals and connect the ball side-to-side.
Loftus agreed with his coach’s estimation of their development in technique, but he also mentioned his pride in the team’s collaboration with one another.
“Our teamwork and our chemistry has improved,” Loftus said. “We work as a unit.”
This teamwork is what coach Heiderscheid works to promote with his athletes.
“Playing high school soccer is about enjoying those few short years with friends,” coach Heiderscheid said. “It is not just about winning and losing.”
