The Waterloo High School boys soccer squad won 7-1 over Marion on Saturday to claim the Class 2A Harrisburg Regional title plaque and advance in the postseason. 

Ethan Gardner netted two goals for the Bulldogs (10-12-2), who will face familiar Mississippi Valley Conference foe Triad in the Civic Memorial Sectional set for 6 p.m. Wednesday. 

The two teams split their regular season matches in a pair of one-goal outcomes. On Sept. 13, Triad won 3-2. On Oct. 6, Waterloo won 2-1.

The Bulldogs opened regional play last Tuesday with a decisive 6-0 victory over Anna-Jonesboro. 

Gardner, a sophomore, netted a hat trick for the Bulldogs in that win. Other goals were scored by Caeden Wille, Grant Eugea and Drew Stafford.

Wille, also a sophomore, leads the Bulldogs in scoring this season with 18 goals and eight assists. Eugea, a junior, is next with 11 goals and six assists.

Other key offensive contributors for Waterloo this fall have been Henry Huels (seven goals, seven assists), Gardner (eight goals, three assists) and Eli Schwehr (five goals, nine assists).

A win on Wednesday would put Waterloo in the sectional final, which takes place at 5:30 p.m. Friday. 

It is an all-MVC sectional. The winner of Waterloo vs. Triad would face the winner of Mascoutah vs. Civic Memorial in the final. 

Waterloo lost both of its matches this season to both Mascoutah and Civic Memorial.

The winner of the Civic Memorial Sectional advances to the Rochester Supersectional, which takes place at 6 p.m. Tuesday. 

Eagles end season

In Class 1A, Columbia dropped a match to a tough Althoff squad in Belleville for the Class 1A Althoff Sectional title on Friday night. 

 The Eagles (17-7-1) lost 3-0 to the Crusaders (25-1), who haven’t lost since Aug. 24 to Edwardsville.

Althoff will face Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in the Virden Supersectional on Wednesday night.

For Columbia, Friday’s loss meant the end of the road for seniors Jack Steckler, Cam Ellner, Danny Repp, Max Barthel, Sean Auer, Maddox Corbin and Kyle Rose. 

Steckler led the Eagles in scoring this season with 26 goals and seven assists. Ellner had nine goals and 25 assists. Repp had 15 goals and 10 assists.

For his varsity career, Steckler scored 69 goals. 

Barthel went 8-3 with nine shutouts in net for Columbia.