Pirate treasure: Hannibal boys soccer team beats QND for first time in more than two decades

QUINCY — The Hannibal boys soccer players didn’t lack confidence despite the fact it had been more than two decades since the Pirates had beaten Quincy Notre Dame in a cross-river showdown.

“The guys thought we should win this game, but to come out and execute and actually do it, that’s a big deal,” Hannibal coach Eric Hill said.

The Pirates scored a pair of first-half goals and a salty defensive effort made the lead last, resulting in a 2-0 victory Tuesday night at Advance Physical Therapy Field. It was the Pirates’ first victory over the Raiders in Hill’s 22 years associated with the Hannibal program.

“They’ve had our number,” Hill said. “They’ve gotten the best of us for a long time. We had some games were both teams really battled. We had one of those last year. We believed we’d finally come out on the right end of one of those battles.”

Being aggressive and going on the attack from the start was critical.

The Pirates scored in the 22nd minute when senior forward Maddox Tharp made a run and ripped a shot that caromed off the leg of QND defender Elliot Hendrian and came right back to him. It allowed Tharp to settle, shoot and score into the left side of the net.

“That’s unlucky,” QND coach Greg Reis said. “But he finished the shot.”

The second goal came off a restart in the 27th minute when a touch to the wide side enabled senior forward Bodie Rollins to roll the ball back across the middle, where junior midfielder Chase Askey bulleted a left-footed shot from 25 yards out that was under the crossbar.

“One thing we talked about was trying to set the tone early,” said Hill, whose team split a pair of season–opening games last Saturday in Rolla, Mo. “It was about learning from the way we came out on Saturday. We just wanted to prove we were capable of playing better than what we did over the weekend. The guys came out aggressive.

“We pressed high on the defense and forced them into some giveaways that we didn’t necessarily capitalize on, but it got us some chances and got our confidence going that we could put that pressure on them and eventually crack through. We finally did.”

It left the Raiders disappointed with their first-half effort.

“Kudos to Hannibal. They ran all over us in the first half,” Reis said. “Unfortunately, we allowed it to happen.”

QND (1-4) showed more fire in the second half, but Hannibal goalkeeper Clayton Neisen and the back line mitigated any danger.

“Our defense and our midifeld did such a nice job of limiting the good, good opportunities for them, which was nice to see,” Hill said.

The Raiders realize their level of play needs to be ratcheted up.

“In the second half, we came out and dictated the flow of the game because we got a little more physical and played with a little more heart and passion and desire to get forward,” Reis said. “I look at my captains and some of my guys who have played more and they need to hold each other accountable and raise the standards of what happens on the field.”