Edwardsville has bucked its way into this year’s state finals rodeo. The ride the Tigers are giving veteran coach Mark Heiderscheid is one he’s savoring in his 25th season at the helm.

"I know how hard it is for a team to do this," Heidercheid said. "I'm so happy for these kids, that they get to experience it, and that they'll get to look back at this as one of the highlights of their high school experience. What a great moment it is for them."

For the program’s ninth state finals appearance, Edwardsville (15-8-1) is by no means bringing its most heralded team to the Class 3A Final Four. The Tigers went 6-5-0 in Southwestern Conference play and entered the state playoffs seeded third in Sub-sectional A of the Alton Sectional.

With a coaching record of 389-118-55 and two state titles under his belt (2000, 2013), Heiderscheid oversees one of Illinois’ premier programs. It’s been five years since Edwardsville’s last state final appearance. While his current players have no connection to the team that placed third in 2019, they understand what it means to wear the Tigers’ kit.

“Most kids don’t have very long memories,” Heiderscheid said. “In two or three years, they just don’t know what came before. But there is something about them hearing the legacy of it all, and I think that does make a difference. It gives them the feeling that they can do it too, and it gives them confidence and motivation.”

Edwardsville struggled at the start of the season, but the orange and black bounced back.

After opening with a mark of 5-6-1, the Tigers began to right the ship. They went 10-2-0 in their last 12 games, including regional and sectional wins over teams that finished at the top of the league and had each beaten them twice in conference play -- O’Fallon (shootout) and Belleville West.

Edwardsville capped its current six-game win streak with Tuesday’s supersectional win over Naperville Central, which is ranked 14th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, on penalty kicks.

Heiderscheid is proud to lead his Tigers into Friday’s semifinal against Lane (16-2-4), with a group of players who never hung their heads.

“Sometimes it’s just about perseverance,” Heiderscheid. “Sometimes a team hits adversity, and it can lose the season. But at midseason, we started to string together wins. We tried to improve on small details and just kept grinding it out.”

Heiderscheid has shifted formations through the years but Edwardsville has always aimed to play a classic possession game. This year the Tigers have been led offensively by Henry Vivian, with 14 goals and five assists. Parker McMillan has eight goals and six assists. Ben Leardi and Majd Hamad have seven goals apiece. Hamad leads the way in assists with 14.

Senior starting keeper Collin Schlechte and junior keeper Jayden Bettorf have both contributed mightily. In 21 games, the 6-foot-3 Schlechte has given up 22 goals. The 6-foot-4 Bettorf has appeared in 15 games and is the team’s shootout specialist; he was in net in the 4-2 PK session against Naperville Central.

This year’s backline features senior centerbacks Ben Leardi and Gavin Lieberman, two savvy veterans in their third varsity seasons. Junior outside back Lincoln Alwart has shined in his first year at the position, and sophomore winger Kaveen Shrestha’s smarts and speed stand out.

A senior-laden midfield features Owen Lunsford and Owen Mahler in the middle, along with Declan Hoeferlin and Zane Maxwell.

"It's nice to be able to move them around based on their strengths, and it's a good mix of talent and ability," Heiderscheid said.

The coach and his staff will analyze some game film of Lane in order to prepare for Friday’s semifinal, “but at this point you just try to do the best things that you can do,” Heiderscheid said.

“You try to stay focused on what’s in your control and not overthink what your opponent might do.”