Raiders seek improvement after being shut out by Irish in season opener

QUINCY — It’s not where or how you start. It’s about where and how you end.

So the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team will take Monday’s 3-0 loss to Peoria Notre Dame in the season opener at Advance Physical Therapy Field as a lesson learned and figure out how to make the ending better than the beginning.

It won’t take long to see if the Raiders are capable of making strides. QND will play four more games this week — all at home — and will have played seven games in the season’s first 11 days after facing Quincy High School at home on September 1.

The midfield will get a boost with the return of senior John Drew, who was forced to miss Monday’s opener after receiving a red card in the season-ending sectional loss last season. Senior Brock Evans, who is nursing a back issue, will add to the depth and experience when he’s healthy.

For now, the Raiders need to find a way to shore things up. The Irish took the lead in the 12th minute on a goal by midfielder Andrew Bonham. They doubled the lead in the 49th minute on Joel McIntyre’s penalty kick, and finished things with Bonham’s goal in the 65th minute.

The Raiders face Beardstown at 6 p.m. Tuesday and play host to their own tournament this weekend, opening at 2:30 p.m. Friday against Ladue Horton Watkins.