Challenges await QND boys soccer team, but upperclass experience bolsters expectations

QUINCY — When Greg Reis scans the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team’s roster, there are quite a few players with a championship pedigree.

Some of them, such as senior midfielder Rylan Fischer and junior midfielder Channing Trevino, played valuable minutes during the 2022 team’s run to the Class 1A state title. Some were on the sideline and the road trips and saw what it was like to win.

Others, such as senior midfielder Brody Jones, have won major tournaments with their club teams.

“When you start putting the pieces together, we have some significant experience,” said Reis, entering his 29th season as head coach with six state tournament appearances and three state championships to his credit.

Then there’s the flip side to this roster.

There just aren’t that many bodies.

QND will open its season Monday night against Peoria Notre Dame with just 22 players in the program. With two currently unavailable because of injuries, it has forced assistant coaches Matt Witte and Denver Bradley to scrimmage when possible.

But that’s not always viable.

“It’s hard to get a feel for what we’re really capable of because we don’t have enough to really play,” Reis said.

Despite knowing how much of a challenge playing PND will be — the Irish won the Class 2A state title in 2022, finished as the state runner-up last fall and return All-American forward Kayden Hudson and all three leading scorers — Reis knows the Raiders need a test.

“We need to assess the system we’re thinking of playing. Is it going to work? Is it not going to work?” Reis said. 

It’s the first of four games this week against quality competition as the Raiders will face Orchard Farms (Mo.), Clayton (Mo.) and Jacksonville in this weekend’s QND Tournament.

“We’re going to get into having some younger kids play who aren’t used to the varsity speed,” Reis said. “It’s going to be a challenge for them.”

Offensive production could be a challenge, too.

After five consecutive seasons in which QND had an all-state forward score 30 or more goals, the Raiders expect to be more balanced offensively with Fischer and Jones both capable of scoring from the midfield. Junior forward Nolan Heck’s maturity and growth should lead to more opportunities to score. And Reis sees junior forward Sullivan Walker as a gritty finisher.

“He’s going to be an opportunist,” Reis said. “He’s going to be in the box, inside the 6-yard box and tap the ball in off rebounds and off crosses.”

Defensively, Trevino and senior center back Alex Strong will anchor a group capable of being a stonewall in front of junior goalkeeper Carter Hankins. Robbie Reed’s return to soccer is a bonus as Reis described him as “a big, tall, athletic kid who is going to help us defending,” and Logan Woodyard will benefit from the playing time he saw last season.

“It’s going to be a challenging, interesting year,” Reis said. “My coaching staff and I have been joking that we’re going to have to actually coach a little bit more and work on drills a lot more than we did with the state championship team. This group just doesn’t have that kind of experience or depth.”