‘The time will come when we get one’: Effort reaching postseason caliber level for Raiders

QUINCY — The frustration showed in their eyes, never in their effort.

The Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer players refused to give up their pursuit of a game-tying goal over the final 40 minutes of Friday night’s crosstown showdown with Quincy High School even when the equalizer never came.

“All the girls worked their butts off, but sometimes that happens,” Raiders junior midfielder Sage Stratton said after a 2-1 loss at Flinn Stadium. “That teaches us that no matter what we have to keep fighting. Next play, next possession, next game.

“We keep fighting until the postseason, and that’s when our fight pays off.”

The trajectory the Raiders are on suggests that fight could carry them deep into the postseason.

A month ago, QHS beat QND 2-0 as Taylor Routh scored late in the first half and 10 minutes into the second half and the Raiders never had an answer. This time, QND (10-11) responded to a one-goal deficit when Addie Flesch scored off a Stratton cross with 15 minutes remaining in the first half.

Bri Lannerd scored seven minutes later to give the Blue Devils an edge they never relinquished, but the majority of the second half was spent with the Raiders on the attack looking for the equalizer.

“We worked really hard,” QND senior midfielder Lauryn Peters said. “It’s really hard and kind of frustrating not to come up with another goal, but we will push through. The time will come when we get one.”

The enthusiasm, the effort and the trust is there to make it happen.

“We’re connecting more,” Stratton said. “We’ve found our identity, and I really think we’re going to make a run in the postseason. We just have to keep practicing and pushing and getting better.”