Raiders earn rematch with Chargers in regional title tilt following shutout of Tigers

EAST PEORIA, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer coach Greg Reis could sense the frustration building in senior forward Rylan Fischer, whose scoring opportunities during Friday’s Class 1A regional semifinal were consistently stymied.

“He kept working and kept working and kept working,” Reis said. “But the goalie was up to the task every time Rylan shot.”

The hope is that changes in the title match.

“It should make him hungrier for Tuesday,” Reis said.

Following Friday’s 5-0 victory over Illini Bluffs, the third-seeded Raiders advance to face top-seeded Peoria Christian at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Eastside Centre in the title game of the Class 1A Peoria Christian Regional.

Last year, the Raiders lost 5-2 to the Chargers in the sectional championship game.

“Hopefully our goals are a little revengeful and remember last year,” Reis said. “Maybe we can return the favor.”

Peoria Christian (20-2-2) advanced with a 9-0 victory over Peoria Manual in Friday’s other regional semifinal.

The start of the second semifinal made it appear like a similar whitewashing was coming. Off a long ball played out of the back by Robbie Reed, QND’s Sullivan Walker beat the Illini Bluffs center back and chipped a shot from about 25 yards out over the goalkeeper to make it a 1-0 lead in the game’s first minute.

“I thought we went a little flat because we got the taste this is going to be super easy,” Reis said.

It took until the 24th minute to score again as the Raiders (8-11-2) took a 2-0 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Nolan Heck scored eight minutes in and Fischer scored to make it a 4-0 lead two minutes later. Walker scored his second goal to cap the scoring.