Blue Devils end five-game losing streak, score five goals to stop offensive drought

QUINCY — After scoring just one goal in the last five games, the Quincy High School girls soccer team finally enjoyed offensive success on Saturday.

Alexa Mosley’s goal came in the first five minutes and sparked an avalanche of goals in a 5-1 victory for the Blue Devils over Jacksonville at Flinn Stadium, snapping a five-game losing streak.

“We scored early, which was nice,” Blue Devils coach Travis Dinkheller said. “That’s kind of been a little bit of a bugaboo lately, putting the ball in the back of the net. Avery Morrison hit a really good flighted ball to Alexa Mosley, who headed it on the run. It was a really good effort on her part.”

Morrison added a goal of her own at the 13-minute mark with an assist by Leah Knudson. However, Jacksonville’s Adyson Haefeli scored at the 35-minute mark. and the halftime score was 2-1.

Knudson converted a penalty kick at the 49-minute mark, and Cameran Byquist scored three minutes apart later in the second half to seal the victory for the Blue Devils (4-6).

Even when losing five in a row, Quincy was competitive in four of the games, losing three times by 2-0 scores and once by a 2-1 score.

“We’re kind of finding our identity, and we’ve played some really, really good teams of late,” Dinkheller said. “We had 17 corners (in a 2-1 loss on April 15) against Galesburg and ended up with one goal, so we’ve got to continue to put ourselves in front of the net. Our girls have kept the positive attitude. 

“When you’re in games, you give yourself a chance to win. These girls have put themselves in a chance to win. I’m happy for them today that they not only gave themselves chances but put some away and put five goals on the scoreboard.”

Quincy plays only one game next week, a Tuesday matchup with Western Big 6 Conference foe Sterling at Flinn Stadium.