BETHALTO - Henry Vivian scored a hat trick, while three other players found the back of the net, as Edwardsville won its first boys soccer match of the new season in a 6-0 win over Civic Memorial in a Metro Cup match played Thursday at Hauser Field in Bethalto.The game was originally set for Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville on Wednesday, but was postponed after a lightning storm passed through the area Wednesday evening, The venue was switched to Hauser Field from SWIC by mutual agreement.
The Tigers played exceptionally well, avoiding many of the problems that the team encountered during their season-opening 2-1 loss to Mascoutah Monday evening.
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"We moved the ball extremely well," said Edwardsville head coach Mark Heiderscheid. "Spacing was vastly improved from the first game, we played quickly with one- and two-touch passing throughout the game. Defenders and midfielders were poised in their play and effectively moved and swung the ball side-to-side. Our playmakers put our attackers in with well-waited passes, and the finishing was top-notch. Our possession and decision-making were such, that we did not allow many chances against our goalkeepers."
The Eagles have a young team, with many new faces amongst their ranks, and Heiderscheid sees a bright future for CM, after having many good years in the past.
"Civic Memorial actually connected passes very well in the first half," Heiderscheid said. "I was impressed. We did not score until midway through the first half. Unfortunately, they just don't have the same depth of talent, and one of their better players, (Tyler) Wilson, was sick, so he was unavailable. They really wore down. I talked with (CM head coach) Tyler Lafferty after the game, and I think he can definitely build something with his team."
Edwardsville struck first after 22 minutes when Jack Kirgan headed home a pass from Gavin Lieberman, then doubled its lead in the 26th minute when Parker McMillian pounded home a rebound to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Vivian scored seven minutes from halftime, climaxing a nice run through the CM defense to score and put Edwardsville up 3-0 at the interval.
Vivian scored a pair of goals to complete his hat trick, the first of his career, in the second half to give Edwardsville a 5-0 advantage before Zane Maxwell struck shortly before full time to give the Tigers the 6-0 win.
Edwardsville is now 1-1-0, and plays twice on Saturday, hosting Normal Community West in its home opener Saturday morning at 10 a.m., then playing at Belleville Althoff Catholic in a 5:30 p.m. kickoff. The Eagles are now 0-2-0, and next play at Springfield Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m, then host Althoff next Wednesday and Jacksonville next Thursday, both games kicking off at 5:45 p.m.
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