Wilson holds line, scores game-winning goal as Pirates beat Blue Devils and sweep Gem City foes

QUINCY — Brody Wilson’s teammates have been offering plenty of suggestions on how he can get more involved in the Hannibal boys soccer team’s attack.

“We’ve been on Brody for taking the ball down the line in practice because he likes to cut it in,” Pirates co-captain Bodie Rollins said.

The sophomore has been listening.

With less than 10 minutes remaining in a scoreless game against Quincy High School on Thursday night at Flinn Stadium, Wilson charged down the line on the left side, beat a defender and scored the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute for a 1-0 victory.

“That was amazing,” Rollins said.

It resulted in history for the Pirates (8-2), who swept their Quincy counterparts for the first time ever. Hannibal beat Quincy Notre Dame 2-0 on Sept. 3 at Advance Physical Therapy Field.

“Honestly, that feels really, really good because it’s the first time in program history,” said Rollins, a senior midfielder. “It felt really good beating QND, but I think there’s just a little more grit against QHS. It’s always been a little more of a physical game. To push through, even when we didn’t have our best game, and get a win out of it is pretty nice.”

The Blue Devils (1-10) were coming off Tuesday’s 8-1 loss to Moline and had lost five consecutive games, but they locked in defensively for a majority of the 80 minutes.

“They came out and definitely showed us what they had,” Rollins said. “They were outworking us, but we had the grit to get going and push through.”

One run made the difference. Konnor Asbury fed Wilson for the pivotal goal that came with 8 minutes, 16 seconds to play.

“That kind of gave us an energy boost,” Rollins said. “The atmosphere just completely shifts. It’s a 0-0 game and everybody is mentally and physically tired. And then Wilson doing that for us, it got us over the fact we knew we were tired. It gave everyone a mental and physical boost for the last five minutes.”

Hannibal goalkeeper Clayton Neisen and the defense posted the shutout — their second in a row and fifth of the season. It also secured the third consecutive victory over QHS and the second shutout of the Blue Devils.

This time, it means the Pirates own bragging rights over the Gem City.

“That we do,” Rollins said.