High five: Venvertloh breaks QHS boys soccer team’s single-game scoring record in WB6 victory

GALESBURG, Ill. — The right approach offensively is something the Quincy High School boys soccer players have tried to perfect.

Tuesday night, the Blue Devils dialed it as well as they have all season.

“The team was very calm on the ball tonight to begin the game, very organized and kept the ball in the opponent’s half,” senior forward Carter Venvertloh said after a 6-1 victory over Galesburg in Western Big 6 Conference play at Van Dyke Field. “Plenty of opportunities coming from that possession.”

Those opportunities led to a record-setting performance.

Venvertloh broke the single-game school scoring record, netting five goals and moving to the top of the WB6 scoring chart with 11 goals in league play. The previous record of four goals was held by multiple players with Andrew VanderMaiden the last to score four times in a game, doing it in back-to-back games against Beardstown and Macomb during the 2021 spring season.

Jaeden Smith also scored four goals in the opening game of the QND/Quincy Recycle Tournament against Ladue Horton Watkins in 2018.

“For Carter to be at the top of the list says a whole lot about his game and the level of improvement he’s made in the last few years and how bright his future really is,” QHS coach Ron Bridal said.

This was Venvertloh’s second hat trick this season, and he has 21 goals in 11 games.

“It’s an honor, not something I was expecting coming into the game,” Venvertloh said of the record. “I went into the game like any other, trying to play my best for the team. I just happened to have the chances and finished them tonight. It feels great to achieve something like this.”

It took a complete effort offensively to create the opportunities.

“We talk about his individual efforts, and he’s a really special kid, but we still have to be able to win the ball in the backfield and work the ball through the thirds and sometimes play a ball into space and run onto it,” Bridal said. “Ultimately, the supporting cast plays an important role in that, but don’t take anything away from Carter. He’s a very special player.

“He has a strong supporting cast able to get him the ball, and he’s able to work some magic. He did that a number of times tonight.”

Boen Brockmiller, Josh Stupavsky, Cooper Frazier, Nolan Fleer and Cale Frazier each had an assist for Quincy, and Logan Epping netted his first career goal to finish the scoring.

“When your teammates play that well and give you a chance like this, you just have to make the most of their hard work,” Venvertloh said.

Capitalizing on those advantages is how the Blue Devils (6-5, 4-1 WB6) build postseason momentum throughout the second half of the season.

“I got good advice from a coach and friend of mine in Matt Longo and that’s to not focus on beating certain opponents. Focus on executing your game plan and running your system of play and winning games,” Bridal said. “Once you can start to do that consistently, you’ll be beating those people you really want to be beating.

“That’s one of those things tonight where we took that to heart. We needed to go out and run the system and execute it. In the second half, we really did what we needed to do and finished strong.”