COLLINSVILLE =E2=80=A2 On a sometimes frustrating = night for the=20 Edwardsville soccer team, Tyler Swanner made sure the Tigers went home = with a=20 smile on their faces.
Swanner scored on a penalty kick with 2 minutes 36 seconds remaining = in the=20 second overtime Tuesday to give Edwardsville a 2-1 win against = Southwestern=20 Conference rival Collinsville. The Tigers got the PK when Chris Pearson = was=20 pulled down inside the box.
"Chris is going in there and he's gone around the corner, so he's = going=20 straight on the goalkeeper and if you don't take him down, he's probably = going=20 to score," said Edwardsville coach Mark Heiderscheid.
"Chris works really hard every time he's out there, and he gets = pulled down a=20 lot more than the refs call," Swanner said.
Swanner's penalty kick beat Collinsville keeper Jason = Kusnerick in=20 the lower right corner.
"One of their players came up and said something to me, but I didn't = worry=20 about it," he said. "I stayed composed and finished it easy, and we won = the=20 game."
The Tigers improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the SWC.
"I really have to feel for Collinsville," Heiderscheid said. "They = showed a=20 lot of character with their effort.
"It's a transition year for them. They've got great players like = Robbie Adams=20 and a great nucleus of young players plus some big kids. After taking a = loss or=20 two to a couple of really big-time schools, they could be disappointed, = but they=20 come out here with us and play a heck of a game."
The loss dropped Collinsville to 5-4-1 overall and 1-2 in league = play.
"They had a dangerous chance (on the penalty kick) and our player had = to do=20 something about it," Kahoks coach Myles Hensler said. "That's just how = the game=20 is played. It's something we've got to overcome."
Edwardsville's high-powered attack was a bit sluggish in the first = half,=20 although the Tigers did have two good scoring chances.
With 23:03 to play, a shot by Pearson deflected off a Collinsville = defender=20 and hit the crossbar. With two minutes remaining, the ball was bouncing = just in=20 the front of Collinsville's net, but the Kahoks were able to clear it = away.
A minute into the second half, Collinsville took a 1-0 lead on a = goal by=20 Sean Courtney, who lofted a floater over the Edwardsville defense and = past=20 goalie Brandon Baker from 25 yards out.
"It was an innocent ball that we thought was out of bounds, but it = was not=20 and they kicked it down the field and nobody was ready to play," = Heiderscheid=20 said. "It's a frustrating situation from a coaching perspective, but = sometimes=20 when a goal is least expected, then it happens."
"It was a matter of us getting forward and getting a lucky bounce and = being=20 able to get it over the keeper's head," Hensler said. "Sean Courtney = obviously=20 made a good run and had a good touch on it."
The Tigers tied the game with 28:29 to play, as Shrinkanth = Parthasarathy made=20 a crossing pass to Daniel Fremont, who beat Kusnerick from point-blank = range on=20 the right side.
In the closing moments of the first overtime period, = Collinsville nearly=20 picked uip the game-winner. Josh Calvin passed to Nick Vogler, whose = shot=20 bounced off the crossbar. Baker was able to grab the rebound as the = buzzer=20 sounded.
"The ball was within an inch of going in and if it did, they would = have been=20 very deserving of winning the game," Heiderscheid said.
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