A junior forward, Reiniger celebrated his 17th birthday by scoring three goals in the first half Wednesday and they held up — barely — in the Kahoks’ 3-2 victory over Triad in the season opener for both teams.
The Knights’ bid for a tie came up short when senior Tobey Suter fired a shot over the crossbar from the right side of the box with eight seconds to play.
“They’re a decent team,” Reiniger said of the Knights, who were 25-1-1 and placed second in the Class 2A state tournament last season. “We definitely kept up more in the first half than the second, but we were able to hold for to the win.”
That wasn’t the case Nov. 2, when Collinsville allowed two goals in 16 seconds late in the second half of an eventual 3-2 overtime loss against Lockport in the Class 3A Bloomington Super-Sectional. The defeat cost the Kahoks, who finished 21-4-2 after making their 10th trip to the state tournament.
“This feels a lot better,” Reiniger said. “I don’t really have much to say about the last (game). Hopefully, that doesn’t happen again. It’s hard to forget; we won’t forget it.
“We’ve been waiting for this first game for a while. We want to make a long run again. The first game meant a lot to us.”
Collinsville, which returns loads of experience, is expected to make another sustained postseason drive. Triad, on the other hand, graduated many of its top players but returns Suter and senior Jake Stewart. The Kahoks saw what those two can create as their lead was whittled down to one goal.
Reiniger’s hat trick came in the first 28 minutes of the game, seemingly putting the Kahoks on Easy Street. But Stewart scored in the middle of the box in the 63rd minute and Suter had a header in the 76th to make it 3-2.
Triad maintained pressure on the cramping Kahoks in the waning moments. It made a final push down the field in the last 20 seconds that produced a cross from Stewart to Suter, which resulted in the shot that drifted high.
“It was the first game and we know Collinsville is going to be one of the better teams in the state,” Stewart said. “Having them for our first game is tough since we’ve got a whole new team. We had to battle back. That’s probably going to be one of the best games all year, playing like that against that kind of team. It’s looking good for the rest of the season.”
Triad coach Jim Jackson agreed.
“They were one goal away from getting to the final four,” Jackson said. “They have their whole team back and we lost half our team. We made mistakes in the first half. But like I told the boys, I’m so proud of them, how they battled back in the second half. Their composure made it a different game.”
Reiniger scored from deep in the box to make it 1-0 in the fourth minute, then beat a defender and converted inside the left post to make it 2-0 in the 28th. The lead swelled to 3-0 when Reiniger got free in the box and ripped a shot into the upper right-hand corner.
Collinsville coach Rob Lugge appreciates what all-stater Reiniger brings to his team’s attack.
“Adam is one heck of a soccer player,” Lugge said. “He is as dangerous a player as can be. When he’s out in the open, he’s hard to stop. He probably could have had two or three more if the ball would have bounced his way. It’s nice to have a player like that.”
If there’s one thing that’s obvious about the Knights — in addition to the skillset of Stewart and Suter — it’s their high level of fitness. Stewart, an all-sectional wingback last year who now plays offensive midfield, said he’s never run as much as he did in the preseason. It showed.
“I would say fatigue (hurt us),” Lugge said. “Triad is always good. They’re always in shape, they’re always disciplined and they always work insanely hard. That second half, they put it on us for a while. We were on our heels. (Stewart and Suter) and good and Gibson Hunt is a heck of a player as well. They’re going to have a lot of success this year if they continue to play like that.”
One thing Triad couldn’t do was contain Reiniger.
“When the kid gets square and beats a guy, there’s not much you can do,” Jackson said. “He’s such a talented player that if you put two guys on him, he’s going to find that open guy.”
Triad had an apparent goal disallowed in the first half. Stewart had one of his patented long throw-ins from the right side that appeared to be flicked into the goal by Suter. The referee, however, said no contact was mad... Click here to read full article
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