Thomas’ goal is breakthrough QND girls soccer team needs to knock off Burlington Notre Dame

QUINCY — Whew.

That was the collective reaction from the Quincy Notre Dame soccer team when freshman Sierra Thomas scored in the 58th minute to break a scoreless draw in QND’s 3-1 win over Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday at Advance Physical Therapy Field.

“You could feel the air come out of the balloon a little bit,” QND coach Mark Thomas said.

Junior forward Makayla Patton said it felt almost as if a pressure valve got released.

“We didn’t know how it was going to work out,” Patton said. “But once we got one, it really just lifted the pressure off to get more.”

Sierra Thomas felt it herself.

“We were just like, ‘OK, we can calm down now,’” she said.

Her goal came after a flurry of QND chances. The Raiders had seven shots on goal and one off the post in the first half. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Nikes blocked four shots. 

In the 51st minute, QND’s Addie Flesch took a cross from Sage Stratton and got off a clean shot from near the penalty spot, but it sailed just high and clanked off the crossbar of the football goal post. Three minutes later, Flesch’s crossing attempt nearly curled inside the far post, but it landed just wide. In the first half, Flesch had a header deflect off a defender and off the crossbar and two other shots that narrowly missed wide.

“I definitely had my chances tonight,” Flesch said. “I didn’t let it stop me though. It is what it is.”

Four minutes after Thomas’ goal, Patton got on the end of a Lilly Schuette corner and headed it home to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead.

Burlington Notre Dame senior midfielder Julianna Hill scored in the 64th minute — the Nikes’ second shot of the game — to cut the deficit to one, but it was deja vu in the 75th minute when Patton again executed a textbook header off a Schuette corner kick to put a bow on the Raiders’ victory.

“I love headers,” Patton said. “They had a big player in the middle, but once I got around her, I knew I had to just go for it.”

Mark Thomas was proud of how the Raiders dealt with the tight defensive formation the Nikes threw at them.

“They made it difficult for us,” Thomas said. “We passed the ball well today. We knocked the ball around pretty well, got some good runs. We just couldn’t finish in the first half, couldn’t get on the end of anything, and when we did, either the keeper made good saves or we weren’t precise enough. But you could see it building.”

Flesch felt it developing.

“Once we got past the midfield, we could really break down their defense with our runs,” Flesch said. “Makayla and I up top really have been working all season on getting those diagonal runs. Once our midfielders are finding those runs, it’s really easy to send the through balls. We really worked tonight on the side and got around almost every time.”

The Raiders (8-7) will take part in the Chatham Glenwood Tournament this weekend where they will face Maine South and Morton. Mark Thomas said this tournament will help prepare the Raiders for what they may see come postseason time.

“We’re trying to sharpen the knife and sword as we go along,” the QND coach said. “We’re playing good teams, and that’s what we want to do. It’s only going to help us in the end.”