Blue Devils end demanding stretch with one-goal conference victory and earn day of rest

QUINCY — Does having survived playing five games in five days without a loss earn the Quincy High School girls soccer team a day of rest come Wednesday?

“Oh, hell yes,” Blue Devils coach Travis Dinkheller said.

Quincy finished its physically taxing stretch Tuesday night with a 1-0 victory over United Township in Western Big 6 Conference play at Flinn Stadium to stay unbeaten in league play at 2-0 and go 3-0-2 in the five-game gauntlet.

“We’re pretty battered and bruised,” Dinkheller said. “We had to win ugly tonight, and we had a lot of girls step in and give us minutes here and there. It was a total team effort.”

That was the case with the goal.

After a ball driven into the attacking third wasn’t fully cleared by the United Township defense, it ended up on Taylor Routh’s foot. She carried the ball to the left side of the penalty area, cut back and slid the ball to Breighlyn Thomas in the middle of the field. Thomas moved the ball to her right foot and hit a ball that was deflected by a UT defender. 

The ball spun as it bounced off the turf and hit another UT defender on the right arm, resulting in a hand ball call and a penalty kick.

Thomas converted the PK with 18:48 remaining in regulation.

“She didn’t hesitate and she took it,” Dinkheller said. “She delivered.”

The Blue Devils (4-0-2) outshot the Panthers 20-3 with junior goalkeeper Taylor Fohey earning the shutout. Quincy is scheduled to travel to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin on Thursday for its first road game of the season.