State preview: Notre Dame (Quincy)
By Curt Herron
Like a lot of excellent coaches in the state, it took Notre Dame coach Mark Longo quite some time before his program captured its first state title.
But after finally reaching that pinnacle in his 20th season at the school, Longo's Lady Raiders have made a habit of winning Class A championships.
Since 2010, Notre Dame has won five state championships. The program repeated as title winners in 2012-13 and then again in 2017-18.
Longo’s teams have posted an incredible 570-97-69 record during his 31-year career at the school, which and has never had a losing season. Since the title run began, the Raiders have only been beaten 27 times in 270 matches.
So, it should come as no surprise that the Lady Raiders have their sights set on adding another championship trophy to their large collection.
They take on Timothy in a 1 p.m. semifinal match at Hoffman Estates High School on Friday with the intention to face Wheaton Academy or Althoff in the 2 p.m. final Saturday.
The team has given up just eight goals this season. Three of those came in their lone setback, a 3-1 loss to Quincy on May 27 in their regular-season finale.
However once the playoffs began, Notre Dame was up to its old tricks. The Lady Raiders scored 21 goals in three shutout wins before capturing a 1-0 supersectional victory over University (Normal) to earn its ninth state appearance.
Sophomore forward Lia Quintero leads the attack with 38 goals and 11 assists. That's the highest goal total for any of the players among the 12 teams at the state finals.
Other top offensive threats for Notre Dame are: senior halfback Ellie Peters (15 goals, 13 assists), sophomore forward Sophie Gramke (14, 5), sophomore fullback Eva Dickerman (9, 5), sophomore halfback Avery Keck (6, 6), sophomore halfback Anna Keck (5, 5) and freshman halfback Lauryn Peters (4, 6).
Freshmen goalies Addison Van Hecke and Aly Young have split time in the net and have recorded 14 shutouts. The team's captains are seniors Audrey Henkenmeier, Sheriden Hull and Ellie Peters.
By Curt Herron
Like a lot of excellent coaches in the state, it took Notre Dame coach Mark Longo quite some time before his program captured its first state title.
But after finally reaching that pinnacle in his 20th season at the school, Longo's Lady Raiders have made a habit of winning Class A championships.
Since 2010, Notre Dame has won five state championships. The program repeated as title winners in 2012-13 and then again in 2017-18.
Longo’s teams have posted an incredible 570-97-69 record during his 31-year career at the school, which and has never had a losing season. Since the title run began, the Raiders have only been beaten 27 times in 270 matches.
So, it should come as no surprise that the Lady Raiders have their sights set on adding another championship trophy to their large collection.
They take on Timothy in a 1 p.m. semifinal match at Hoffman Estates High School on Friday with the intention to face Wheaton Academy or Althoff in the 2 p.m. final Saturday.
The team has given up just eight goals this season. Three of those came in their lone setback, a 3-1 loss to Quincy on May 27 in their regular-season finale.
However once the playoffs began, Notre Dame was up to its old tricks. The Lady Raiders scored 21 goals in three shutout wins before capturing a 1-0 supersectional victory over University (Normal) to earn its ninth state appearance.
Sophomore forward Lia Quintero leads the attack with 38 goals and 11 assists. That's the highest goal total for any of the players among the 12 teams at the state finals.
Other top offensive threats for Notre Dame are: senior halfback Ellie Peters (15 goals, 13 assists), sophomore forward Sophie Gramke (14, 5), sophomore fullback Eva Dickerman (9, 5), sophomore halfback Avery Keck (6, 6), sophomore halfback Anna Keck (5, 5) and freshman halfback Lauryn Peters (4, 6).
Freshmen goalies Addison Van Hecke and Aly Young have split time in the net and have recorded 14 shutouts. The team's captains are seniors Audrey Henkenmeier, Sheriden Hull and Ellie Peters.