Fit to be tied: Blue Devils play to pair of scoreless draws, Raiders end tourney with stalemate

QUINCY — Noticeably irked after allowing a goal in the final two minutes Friday night against Hannibal, the Quincy High School girls soccer team’s defenders vowed it wouldn’t happen again.

A spirited effort Saturday ensured it didn’t.

The Blue Devils withstood a late push from Ladue Horton Watkins to finish off the second of two shutouts Saturday in the QHS Tournament. Quincy played Cape Girardeau (Mo.) Notre Dame and Ladue to a pair of scoreless ties to finish the tourney with a 1-0-2 record.

“Defensive-wise, we knew we needed to pick up our communication with each other,” senior center back Ava Soltwedel said. “We had to fix our formation and do a better job communicating and covering for each other. I think we did a really good job of that.”

Especially being under constant attack.

“That was a very spirited match, and to play in the manner and with the spirit we did in that game on your third game in less than 24 hours, you have to appreciate it,” QHS coach Travis Dinkheller said after finishing the tourney 1-0-2 following the tie with Ladue. “I said to the girls after the game that was a courageous effort.

“Not everything was going the way we wanted it to. You’re playing against a good team that’s very organized and hard-nosed. So I was very, very happy with our effort. Throughout the weekend, I don’t question the effort at all.”

Dinkheller simply would like to see more goals.

So now it’s the attack’s job to turn fuel into fire.

The Blue Devils (2-0-2) scored six goals combined in their first games of the season, but struggled with finishing touches Saturday. Against Cape Girardeau Notre Dame, they knocked the ball off the post twice and the crossbar twice — either on shots or corner kicks. Against Ladue, they shot wide of an open net once and failed to connect in front of the goal.

“I thought we did a nice job of staying engaged when we were tired and showing some resiliency,” Dinkheller said. “We just need to find ways to score in those instances, too.”

The defense is giving the offense time to work out those kinks.

“We brought higher energy, played as a team and definitely talked more,” senior wingback Anna Morrison said.

That was important after the late miscue against Hannibal.

“We have to continue to remind each other to be in that stagger position and keep our checkmark and continually move and support each other when the ball is switching fields,” Soltwedel said. “Dropping back and supporting each other’s runs was a good thing that we did.”

Two games remain in the five-games-in-five-days stretch the Blue Devils face, including the crosstown showdown against Quincy Notre Dame at 6 p.m. Monday at Flinn Stadium.

“We definitely want to play our best against QND,” Morrison said. “It’s an emotional game and hopefully we just get after it.”

QND went 1-1-1 in the tournament, rebounding from Friday’s loss to Ladue by beating Springfield 4-1 and tying Cape Girardeau Notre Dame 2-2.

Against Springfield, senior forward Lia Quintero scored 10 minutes into the match and Lilly Schuette doubled the lead when she took an errant pass from the Senators and slotted it into the side netting three minutes before halftime.

In the second half, Quintero and Makayla Patton scored to make it 4-0. Springfield scored its lone goal on a penalty kick with six minutes remaining in regulation.

Against Cape Girardeau Notre Dame, Schuette gave the Raiders the lead in the first half when she collected a deflected ball and drilled a shot from nearly 30 yards out. Midway through the second half, Patton gave the Raiders a two-goal lead when she scored off an assist from Sage Stratton.

However, Cape Girardeau Notre Dame scored with 12:45 to play and tied the game with six minutes to play to forge the tie, which left QND with a 5-1-1 overall record.

Hannibal suffered a pair of losses in its two Saturday games, falling 2-0 to Ladue and 7-2 against Springfield. The Pirates are 2-3 overall.