Business trip: While excited and loose, Raiders head to state tournament focused on task at hand

QUINCY — The newness of the state tournament experience wore off when the youthful Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team didn’t get the opportunity to play in the title game a year ago.

“Disappointing,” junior forward Lia Quintero said. “I’d say it was disappointing.”

So this time, it’s all business.

The Raiders head back to the state tournament and back to their home away from — North Central College’s Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium — to face Normal U-High at 7 p.m. Friday in the Class 1A semifinals. The winner plays for the championship at 5 p.m. Saturday.

QND has won each of its five state championships at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, while both fourth-place finishes — 2000 and 2021 — were played at Chicago area high schools.

“Last year was fun, but this year we’re going back with a plan and I really think it will be different,” junior midfielder Avery Keck said. “I truly believe we can win a state championship.”

When you surrender very little, you always have a chance.

The Raiders (21-3-3) have posted eight consecutive shutouts, including holding Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin and 2021 Class 1A state champion Belleville Althoff scoreless for a combined 200 minutes. They are the stingiest team in the final four.

QND has allowed just 15 goals with 18 shutouts this season, while Richmond-Burton (22-1-1) has 13 shutouts and 19 goals allowed, Normal U-High (16-9) has 14 shutouts and 23 goals allowed and Lombard Montini (13-4-1) has three shutouts and 30 goals allowed.

“We definitely know what we have and what we need to do in order to succeed,” said junior sweeper Eva Dickerman, who is the defensive anchor. “This team’s chemistry is so much better because we’ve been together so long.”

And still, the Raiders could be considered young.

There are no seniors on the roster, and four freshmen find themselves in the starting lineup. In fact, there are eight combined freshmen and sophomores logging significant minutes.

“Let’s be honest, we’re pretty much a JV team when you look at our ages,” QND coach Mark Longo said. “But they have matured and become better.”

That’s a credit to being there before.

“Honestly, it’s just amazing that we get to go there again,” Dickerman said. “We know what we need to do. Because we’ve been there before, we know we have to work that much harder to get there.”

For the handful of players experiencing this for the first time, the message from their teammates has been simple.

“Right now, you never know when it’s your last game,” freshman forward Annie Eaton said. “So fight your hardest.”

And savor the moment, too.

“It’s crazy fun,” Eaton said. “It’s all I could ever dream of. It’s just fun to see all of our hard work come together at the end and our connections throughout the season have grown stronger.”

This tightens that bond.

“Even the bus ride there, we’re trying to have fun, talking to each other, playing music,” junior midfielder Anna Keck said. “It’s a really nice bonding thing. It’s nice to get to spend time with our team before we go out and do business.”

After all, it is a business trip.

“Of course, we will have fun,” Longo said. “But we focus on the task at hand and our goals. We want to come home with the championship.”