COLLINSVILLE - Zane Maxwell scored in the first half, and both Jack Kirgan and Clayton Kupinski scored in the second half to give Edwardsville a workmanlike 3-0 win over Belleville East in the IHSA Class 3A boys soccer regional Tuesday evening, Oct. 21, 2025, at Collinsville’s Kahok Stadium.
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The win puts the Tigers into the final Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against the host Kahoks, who defeated Alton in the second semifinal 2-0, with the winner moving on to the O’Fallon sectional next week.
The win wasn’t as easy as the score indicated, as the Lancers worked hard and did the Tigers.
"3-0 makes it sound a lot easier than it was,” said Edwardsville head coach Mark Heiderscheid, who picked up his 401st career win, “because it was very tight. I thought coach Ron English (the Belleville East head coach) did a great job of having his kids compete. He had them very compact in the middle part of the field, and to be honest with you, we couldn’t simply find much room out here.
"I thought they drove in a lot of balls very well to make it very difficult for our back line and our keeper. They just happened not to capitalize on that. But it’s 1-0 at the half, and at that point, if they score, then it’s a very tight game. And so, with us getting the second goal, it gave us a good margin, but even with that, it’s still in doubt. I think the second one, with Jack finishing, was huge for us. But the last one, once it went to three, then, at that point, we kind of know that the game’s pretty much done at that point. And that was good, it allowed me to get a few extra people out there as well.”
Heiderscheid agreed it was a very workmanlike win for the Tigers, and it allowed them to look ahead to Saturday’s final.
“It was workmanlike,” Heiderscheid said. “The pace is always going to make us work to get a result, and that. So, at this point, we have to be happy, because the playoffs are always about you have to get through the game, and you try to play the next one. And depending on who we play, again, Collinsville make a very, very difficult matchup if they win it.
"If it’s Alton, here, same thing. Greg Nasello and coach Rob Lugge for Collinsville, they will always have their teams ready to play. They both will come out with a lot of energy. So either way, however that turns out, it’s really going to take lots of effort to get a result. It’s a tough regional, but that just the nature of the sport.”
The first 20 minutes were mainly concentrated in the midfield, as both teams tried to establish themselves, but in the 24th minute, Maxwell took a nifty crossing pass and tapped home into the roof of the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The Lancers did have some good chances, but were thwarted by the Edwardsville defense, particularly by goalie Eli Kennedy, who made some good saves. The only fly in the ointment came late, when Maxwell was booked, but the Tigers came out on top 1-0 at the interval.
Edwardsville doubled its lead in the 52nd minute, when Kirgan took a brilliant pass and rifled home a first-time shot into the back of the net to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Edwardsville got its final goal in the 69th minute, when Kupinski scored in similar manner, taking a nice cross to fire the ball home to make the final score 3-0. East did have some good chances throughout the second half, and made life difficult for the Tiger backfield, but Kennedy and the defense came up with the answers to stop the East attacks.
The Lancers conclude their season at 2-13-1, while the Tigers go to 11-7-2, and meet the host Kahoks in the final Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner moves on to the Peoria Notre Dame Catholic sectional, where they’ll meet the O’Fallon regional winner at a site to be announced at 5 p.m. Oct. 28.
The winner meets the winner of the game between the Minooka winner and the Moine winner in the final, Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m., with the sectional winner going on to the Normal Community super-sectional against the Naperville North winner Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. The state finals are set for Hoffman Estates High School, Nov. 7-8.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
