Blue Devils score equalizer, lock down defensively to forge tie with Raiders

QUINCY — For a team desperately trying to hold its rival at bay and make amends for the batterings of recent past, Boen Brockmiller’s game-tying goal gave the Quincy High School boys soccer team the belief any and everything was possible.

The Blue Devils’ defense latched on to that.

“It gives us a blanket of confidence and support back there,” QHS senior goalkeeper Grayson Cook said. “It’s some reassurance to the game we were playing and allows us to open up and start to do more risky things that will open up counterattacks and things like that.”

With risk comes reward, and in this case, the Blue Devils shut out Quincy Notre Dame in the second half and two overtime periods Thursday night to forge a 1-1 tie at Flinn Stadium.

“It means so much to come back and tie,” said Brockmiller, who scored the equalizer in the 65th minute. “It feels like a win to us.”

It’s certainly significant progress.

The Raiders dominated the city series in recent memory, winning five of the last six matchups and scoring five or more goals in three of those victories. Last spring, QND won 6-0 at Advance Physical Therapy Field and 5-0 at Flinn Stadium.

Similar to many of the goals scored in those games, the Raiders seized the lead on a restart. Senior wingback Cayge Hughes drove the free kick into the box and center back Logan Zanger, who moved up on the attack, headed it home for a 1-0 advantage in the 28th minute.

“In the flow of the game, I thought we created multiple chances,” QND coach Greg Reis said.

The Raiders (7-2-3) didn’t have much to show for it.

“I think we played well and we possessed the ball,” QND senior goalkeeper Ethan Sparrow said. “We just weren’t able to finish. We just have to work on that. We have to finish our opportunities. That’s what it boils down to.”

It opened up the opportunity for Brockmiller to turn the tide.

With 15 minutes remaining in regulation, Brockmiller made a run up the right wing, draw Sparrow out and plant a shot into the lower left corner of the goal that wound up in the side netting to tie things up.

“It was a heck of a shot,” QHS coach Ron Bridal said. “It looked like he went too far, but it was a beautiful finish. You couldn’t have asked for a better placed ball.”

Brockmiller was confident he had the angle and the shot.

“I was thinking about crossing it, but I knew it would be a lot cooler if I scored that one,” he said.

Sparrow nearly negated it.

“I thought I had the angle on him,” Sparrow said. “I got a fingertip on it, but just not enough.”

An eruption from the QHS sideline showcased the emotion of the moment.

“Oh, my gosh, it’s like the feeling of a lifetime,” Brockmiller said.

After that, the Blue Devils (5-2-2) refused to break under the Raiders’ pressure. Cook finished with eight saves, but he controlled the box, punched out several corner kicks and didn’t allow Zanger or Quinton Hankins, QND’s other big, physical center back, to come forward and win balls in the air.

“We have to be able to finish and put the ball on the frame,” Reis said. “It doesn’t have to be pretty. We just have to be more effective on the offensive end.”

And they cannot allow opponents to gain confidence the way the Blue Devils did.

“We knew we were back in this game,” Cook said. “It gave me the confidence as the keeper to come out and make some of those more dangerous saves.”

It’s confidence that will carry over, thanks to an effort and a rally the Blue Devils see as memorable.

“It’s obviously super thrilling,” Cook said. “A night like this, my senior year, it’s all hyped up. It’s just something you dream about.”