When the Collinsville and Granite City boys soccer teams took the field Tuesday night in Granite City, they brought with them 14 Illinois state championships.
Brendan Rosenburg / Photo by Alex Paz / Click the photo to buy this and other Kahoks photos at www.pazimages.com
Both squads entered the match with a losing record for 2013, but Granite City’s 2-0 victory gave them three wins in their last four matches. The Warriors, winners of 10 state championships, improved to 2-2 in the Southwestern Conference and 6-8 overall.
The Kahoks (1-3 SWC, 4-8-1 overall) continued their recent spiral, dropping their fifth match in their last six starts. Opponents have outscored Collinsville 18-2 during the skid.
Collinsville players have a tendency to hang their heads if they allow the first goal, and all but wave the white flag if their opponent scores multiple goals before the Kahoks remove their zero from the scoreboard, Head Coach Myles Hensler has said multiple times this season. The match Tuesday was another example.
Granite City found the back of the net twice in the first half on goals from junior forward Hunter Little and sophomore defender Zach Druhe. The loss moved the Kahoks to 0-7-1 on the year when their opponents score more than one goal.
Hensler was disappointed with his team’s effort against a traditional rival. “As a coach, you want the players to compete, you want them to have effort on every play of the game, but I just don’t think we’re getting that from all 11 guys on the field at the same time, and that’s what it takes to win,” Hensler said.
Despite the Kahoks lack of recent offensive firepower, Hensler said the defense is the key to the team’s recent struggles. “We’re constantly worried about the play in front of us rather than anticipating the next play,” Hensler said. “Even if we don’t have a chance of winning the ball, putting pressure on them, forcing them to commit a mistake is a big difference between lying off and giving them time and space. That’s something I’ve been trying to re-iterate.”
Collinsville will try to get untracked this weekend in the two-day, three-game Gateway City Classic. Their first match is at 5:45 p.m. Friday at O’Fallon against Cape Girardeau Central. The Kahoks then return to Kahok Stadium Saturday for a match at 11 a.m. against Glendale High of Springfield, Mo. and a 3 p.m. contest against Notre Dame of Cape Girardeau.
