The postseason has arrived for local high school boys soccer squads with regional tournaments now underway. 

Waterloo (15-3-2) captured a share of the Mississippi Valley Conference title for the first time since 2019 and the 11th time overall courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Highland on Thursday. 

Trey Breitenstein and Trent Glaenzer each scored for Waterloo, which got five saves from goalkeeper Parker Lacroix. 

This is the final year of MVC play as the conference is disbanding. Waterloo will play in the Cahokia Conference next school year.

Last Tuesday, Waterloo picked up a conference win over Mascoutah by a 3-1 count. Glaenzer scored twice and added an assist. Isaiah Mallery also scored.

The Bulldogs hosted Mt. Vernon to open Class 2A regional play Tuesday, winning 9-0. Waterloo will face either Mascoutah or
Carterville in the regional final set for 11 a.m. Saturday for a berth in next week’s Mascoutah Sectional. 

Glaenzer is the leading scorer this fall for the Bulldogs with 15 goals and 10 assists, followed by Kian Day with 13 goals and two assists.

Lacroix has a 0.42 goals against average and .905 save percentage in net.

Columbia (18-5-3) will also be playing for a regional title at home this week. 

The Eagles destroyed Pinckneyville to the tune of 9-0 to open Class 1A regional play at home Monday. Owen Worcester netted four goals, Malone Hohman scored twice, and Luke Dewilde contributed a goal and five assists. 

Columbia will host Freeburg in the regional final set for 6 p.m. Friday, with a berth in next week’s Father McGivney Sectional on the line. 

The Eagles concluded regular season play with a 1-1 tie last Wednesday at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin. Dewilde scored the goal on an assist from Elliot Nelson. 

Dewilde is the leading scorer this season for Columbia with 29 goals and 26 assists. Worcester has 21 goals and 13 assists. Chanse Frierdich has 20 goals and six assists.

Gibault (5-14) opened Class 1A regional play Tuesday at Murphysboro. The score was not known at press time. The winner of this match faces Metropolis in the regional final at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

The top scorers for the Hawks this season have been Drew Hagedorn (three goals, four assists) and Nolan Snell (two goals, four assists).

Also at the Murphysboro Regional, Valmeyer (2-15) concluded its season with a 10-0 loss Friday to Vienna. 

The Pirates were led in scoring this fall by Ripken Voelker, who netted nine goals and contributed two assists.