COLLINSVILLE – Blye Brickman’s penalty shootout goal in the fifth and final round after a Collinsville miss gave Edwardsville a 5-4 win in the shootout after the match ended in a 2-2 draw after extra time in the Southwestern Conference opener for both sides Tuesday evening at Kahok Stadium.
It was an important bounce-back win for the Tigers after having dropped their season opener to Springfield in the Metro Cup showcase last week, the only match the Tigers were able to play in the tournament, as last week’s heat wave forced the cancellation of almost the entire schedule.
The Tigers got off to a dream start in the second minute, when Evan Moore scored off a Liam McLean cross to go ahead 1-0 but Sam Garafalo equalized for the Kahoks from a Trey Peterson feed to draw Collinsville level at 1-1. Moore scored after 38 minutes on a free-kick situation. A perfect free kick from Jonas Mahler found Moore at the back post, with Moore hitting the ball into the back of the net to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead at the interval.
Collinsville wasn’t deterred, however, and in the 46th minute, Adam Reiniger scored his third goal of the season on a tremendous individual effort, taking a pass from goalie Rob Freeman and breaking through on his own to score and put the Kahoks level again at 2-2. The Tigers had a big chance to retake the lead, but Moore was stopped by Freeman, and in the dying minutes, Collin Schlechte stopped a big chance by the Kahoks to preserve the tie and send the match into 20 minutes of extra time.
Early in the first half of extra time, Moore had the best chance for either side off a free kick, but his shot hit the woodwork and bounced away. The two 10-minute halves ended up goalless, forcing the shootout under Southwestern Conference rules.
In the shootout, Mahler, Nate Loftus, Moore and McLean all scored, while the Kahoks also converted their first four chances. In the fifth round, the Collinsville shooter hit the bottom of the right post, opening the door for Brickman, who made no mistake in slotting the ball home, giving the Tigers the 5-4 shootout win and the three points
Freeman made 11 saves for the Kahoks, while Schlechte had five save for Edwardsville.
The Kahoks are now 1-2-0 on the year, while the Tigers go to 1-1-0 and play at Alton Thursday night in a 6:30 p.m. kickoff at Public School Stadium.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
