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EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville head boys’ soccer coach Mark Heiderscheid made sure all his players from freshman to senior levels received a chance to play in Saturday night’s team scrimmage and introduction to the community.
“The kids were able to play and the parents had a chance to watch,” he said. “It really brings the community together a lot and it creates good will and support for the players. We have good numbers with about 45 total on the team. There is a lot of interest in soccer here in Edwardsville.”
A large group of parents and fans attended the event Saturday night, including several high school students in a collective EHS area in the stadium bleachers. The coach said he thought his team looked good through the various grade levels and he was optimistic about his varsity team’s success this season. Goal keeping is a real strength for the team with Trey Riley returning and a multitude of other keepers on the roster. Riley was on a college visit on Saturday night and did not play.
For freshmen the coach said they were able to get a practice run of what it is like to play in match type of situations.
“We made sure everybody got a chance to play and were able to observe the players at the different levels,” Heiderscheid said.
Edwardsville’s boys open Thursday night at home against Granite City. Varsity start time should be about 6:45 p.m. The Tigers play Friday and Saturday in a tourney in Alton.
Granite City is a big soccer community and always come ready to play The Tigers, the coach said.
“Granite City is always up for us,” he said. “We have had some success in recent years and they always give their best effort. They have great kids and I don’t care if they are 5-15 when they play us, they are always up for us.”
Lost from last year’s team are standouts Andrew Milliken and Brandon Paul. Three defensive specialists who saw considerable action last year return this season.
“Offense is a little of a mystery for us,” the coach said. “We play matches Friday and Saturday in the Alton Tourney, so we will find out a lot about us in a short period of time with a lot of matches.”
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