It was the end of the regular season. The record was 11-8-1. And though the boys soccer team had just begun to hit their groove, players doubted their chances at making it to state.

“Regular season did not go as planned,” senior player Declan Hoeferlin said. “I knew we had a good team, but it took up until the postseason for things to click together.” 

The Tigers ended non-conference play with a 2-1 win over the Rochester Rockets. But before that, it had been a mixed bag of victories and defeats with few high streaks.

“Going into the postseason, I knew we could be good if we worked together because I saw glimpses of how good we were in the regular season, just not all the time,” senior goalie Brayden Fairburn said. “That’s why I had faith we would make it far, but I wasn’t 100 percent confident [we’d] make it all the way to state.”

Coming off of the final non-conference win, senior player Wyatt Brooman felt things click into place.

“Once we got to the postseason, I fully expected that we could win the whole thing,” he said.

When conference play began, the Tigers demonstrated a consistency of success that was missing in the regular season. They beat teams that had previously defeated them and racked up wins against Quincy, then O’Fallon, then Belleville West and Normal Community and Naperville Central – the sixth best team in Illinois, according to Maxpreps.

To Fairburn, it felt like the team was “playing for [their] lives.”

“In the regular season, we weren’t as serious about all aspects of the game, whether in training or in games,” Fairburn said. “I feel like when the post season came around, we took the game more seriously because we didn’t want to lose and go home.” 

Brooman said it was a “whole new world of competitiveness,” with more pressure and more hype. The last time the Tigers achieved a state title was in 2019, with a third-place finish.

The semifinals came three days after that stunning upset against Naperville Central. The Tigers were riding a six-game winning streak and ready for a weekend that would end in success no matter what, with fourth place being the lowest they could achieve in the state tournament.

Hoeferlin said the win against Naperville gave him confidence going into the Nov. 8 semifinals.

“Of course I had some nerves, but I was ready to play,” he said.

The win brightened Fairburn’s outlook similarly.

“Going into the weekend, I was hyped for the boys because we just came off of upsetting one of the top teams in the state to punch our ticket, so I knew we had the ability to beat the best for sure … ” Fairburn said.

He said the atmosphere before the semifinal was tense, but that tension fueled the players, securing them an early goal against Lane Tech.

“We would go on to lose, but seeing the fight from the boys to get back to a 3-2 game and not giving up is something I’ll never forget,” Fairburn said.

The next day, Lane Tech would become the champion team, and EHS would settle for fourth after a loss to the Hinsdale Central Red Devils. The Tigers struggled to overcome a three-goal first half lead by their opponents.

“ The boys never gave up – not for a single minute,” Fairburn said. “I saw fight in every player, even the ones struggling. They all wanted to walk away with something more than fourth.” 

Looking back on his tumultuous senior season, Fairburn is grateful for the graciousness of his team.

“We just went 2-0 in the state tournament and didn’t achieve anything we wanted, but no blame was put on anyone,” Fairburn said. “The team came together and finished on good terms for us seniors, so even though we lost, we still all had each other’s backs.”