Aggressive attack carries Raiders into sectional title game against Trojans

CHILLICOTHE, Ill. — The effort in the two regional victories couldn’t be considered lackluster, but the pin-the-defense-back-with-an-all-out-attack seemed to be absent.

Tuesday night, the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team brought it back to life.

The Raiders scored three first-half goals, consistently applied pressure on the Somonauk goal and headed home with a 4-0 victory in the semifinals of the Class 1A Chillicothe Regional at Illinois Valley Central High School.

“We played well and we created a lot of chances,” said QND coach Greg Reis, whose team improved to 16-5-3. “It was probably one of our better games as far as getting around the outside and getting crosses into the box. They weren’t always quality crosses, but the setup to get to that point was really good.”

It left attackers in the right position to score.

Less than four minutes into the game, junior forward Tanner Anderson drove a ball into the box which Leo Cann was able to flick near the post and redirect into the goal for a 1-0 lead. A loose ball in the box ended up on the foot of Jake Hoyt, who punched it into the goal for a 2-0 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half.

With six minutes remaining before halftime, Anderson scored his 65th career goal — second most in program history — when he one-timed a cross from Brock Evans to the left of the Somonauk goalkeeper.

The Bobcats were unable to answer because they limited the number of attackers to just three or four most of the game.

“They were so committed to keeping us from scoring,” Reis said.

Quinton Hankins made it a 4-0 lead when a corner kick got knocked around in the box and rolled to him. He drilled his shot into the upper netting.

QND goalkeeper Ethan Sparrow was forced to make one critical save late in the second half to preserve the shutout as the defense locked down most of the game.

“The guys are playing really well in the back,” Reis said.

They will need to against Mendota in the sectional championship at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Trojans beat Peoria Christian 3-0 in Tuesday’s first semifinal.

“Peoria Christian really couldn’t muster a whole lot going forward to keep them pinned back in at all,” Reis said. “They were on the attack pretty much the whole game.”

Mendota (22-0) is led by senior striker Yahir Diaz, who has 41 goals and 18 assists this season. The Trojans have allowed just six goals all season, although two came in the postseason.

“It will be interesting to see if Mendota can defend our front five,” Reis said. “They’re pretty athletic, and I think they’re faster than the team we played tonight. It’s a good challenge for us to see if we come out and buzz around with the energy we had tonight.”