The Glendale High School boys' soccer team has been soaking up the history all week long. Since Saturday, when the Falcons clinched a berth in the Class 3 state semifinals, reminders of Glendale's state soccer history have been inescapable.

First came the Falcons' final four shirts, which pay tribute to Glendale's 1991 and 1994 semifinal squads. Then there was the Thursday night send-off reception, which '91 and '94 players attended. And there will be plenty of former Falcons faces in the crowd at tonight's game, coach Jeff Rogers said.

When the Falcons take the field tonight in Fenton, they will look to make some new history by becoming the first team from Springfield team to advance to the championship game in the state's largest class.

That chance at rewriting local history excites the team, senior back and co-captain Ryan Squires said.

"Yeah, it does," he said. "No (big class) area team has ever finished higher than third place, so we have high expectations. We want to be in the first place game. We want to be there."

In order to do that, Glendale (25-4) must take care of business in its semifinal clash with DeSmet (17-7-1) at 8 tonight at the Anheuser Busch Soccer Center.

A defensive-minded team that looks to score on the counterattack, DeSmet will challenge a Glendale team that is often on the offensive. But senior midfielder and co-captain Devon Newport is confident that if the Falcons execute their game plan, DeSmet's style of play won't be a problem.

"I think with our style of play we'll be able to break them down," Newport said.

As they have prepared for DeSmet, the Falcons have benefited from wisdom imparted on them by someone who has been in their shoes before. Assistant coach Josh Keisker played for both the '91 and '94 teams and has tried to prepare the players for the challenges that await them.

"He's basically told us we're playing good teams, but the atmosphere is what's hard to deal with," Squires said. "That's the biggest thing we've got to deal with, is the atmosphere."

Newport said Glendale avoided getting too caught up in this week's pre-game pageantry, instead finding a good balance between celebration and preparation.

"I think this whole week we've kind of had time to take it in," Newport said, "but also still stay focused on our next game."

Rogers said he expects his team will have similar success dealing with jitters in Fenton. He pointed to his players' big-game experience at the club level and said the pomp, circumstance and crowds at state shouldn't overwhelm them.

"They'll be ready to play," Rogers said. "It's been a great week for them, but they'll be ready at kickoff."