Raiders celebrate final home game for seniors with 6-0 victory, anxious to make postseason tournament run

QUINCY — Two goals scored within 40 seconds of each other put the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team in front in the game’s first nine minutes, and the Raiders went on to enjoy senior night with a 6-0 victory over Jacksonville on Wednesday night at Advance Physical Therapy Field.

Mia Vranjes got the first goal at the eighth minute, and Makayla Patton followed up just after play restarted to put QND in charge. However, the score remained 2-0 for the first half, despite lots of pressure on goal from the Raiders. Jacksonville freshman goalie Addie Johnson had a great game, warding off shot after shot in the first half.

“We’re a young team, and so I knew it was going to be a tough game coming into it,” Jacksonville coach Drew Comstock said. “I thought the first half we looked pretty good.”

Senior captain Sage Stratton assisted Patton, another senior captain, in a glorious teamwork moment early in the second half. Stratton placed the ball just in front of the goal, where Patton beamed it in.

Addie Flesch’s goal in the 14th minute of the second half brought the score to 4-0. 

“I dribbled across a few defenders, and then I was kind of open on my right, so the goalie came to the right and I shot left,” Flesch said. “I’ve been working on trying to finish in the corner, so that was good for me.”

QND maintained possession of the ball for most of the game, impressively stringing together consecutive passes on multiple occasions.

“We want to connect, pass the ball and keep possession, then attack when we’ve got space and time and numbers,” Raiders coach Mark Thomas said.

Stratton then used her body to deflect a corner kick past Johnson, bringing the score to 5-0. With only seven minutes left in the game, senior Meredith Eversman scored the final goal.

Senior captain Liesel Vincent was nostalgic after the game.

“QND has given me a lot of love, and I’ve really created a family with the soccer program,” she said.

Thomas was happy to celebrate the seniors, but he has his eye on the upcoming postseason tournament. The Raiders (10-6-1) learned this week they are the No. 2 seed on their side of the Greenville Sectional and will be the host of a regional tournament. Their first playoff game is against Springfield Lutheran on May 16.

“Coming in as freshmen, (these seniors won) a state title right back in 2022,” Thomas said. “We’re trying to get back to that spot. They’ve worked hard and had a good run, and hopefully we can do the same this year.”