By MATT SCHUCKMAN
Herald-Whig Sports Writer
A one-goal deficit didn't faze the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team.
A two-goal deficit could have.
"A lot of teams would think, 'We're done. We can't do this,'" QND senior forward Erin Thomas said. "Not us. We had the talent and the devotion to come back and win it. We knew it was in us all along."
Facing adversity brought out QND's best.
The Lady Raiders climbed out of a 2-0 hole against crosstown rival Quincy High School by halftime Tuesday night, and Thomas capped the rally when she scored on the rebound of a Hilary Obert shot late in the second half of a 3-2 victory at Flinn Stadium.
"I believed it," Obert said. "I was mad at the time we fell behind. I was like, 'What is going on?' But we kept fighting, so we obviously believed we could do it."
It took a little bit of blind faith.
Only six times in the last four seasons had the Lady Raiders trailed by two or more goals and not since a 3-2 loss to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in the 2006 regional semifinals. And only once had QND overcome such a deficit.
In 2005, when only three of the current players were on the varsity roster, the Lady Raiders rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second half to beat Pattonville (Mo.) 5-4 in double overtime at the Hazelwood Central Showcase.
Thomas had the game-winning goal in that game, too.
"I've always wanted us to be known as having a never-say-die attitude," QND coach Mark Longo said. "We just kept working and working. The reason we're successful, we try to outwork you. I think we did that."
It kept a remarkable unbeaten streak intact. QND (3-0-1) has won 18 of the last 20 meetings with QHS, going 15-0-2 in regular-season meetings and 3-0 in the postseason since the start of the 2000 season.
"It is important," Thomas said. "If we lose, it's going down in their record book."
After 15 minutes, it appeared that might be the case.
The Blue Devils (6-1) capitalized on a pair of near-perfect crosses to go up 2-0 by the 25:59 mark. First, Katie Runyon played a ball from the left wing into the box where Lydia Disseler ran unmarked onto it, drawing QND keeper Megan Rabe out before touching her shot into the open net.
Six minutes later, QHS's Kelseigh Ruths lofted a corner kick into the goalmouth, and after the ball ricocheted off a defender, Ali Hoffman headed it in for the second goal.
"The effort was great," QHS coach Bill Sanders said.
It was the reaction to a 2-0 lead he wants to see change.
"We changed the way we played," Sanders said. "It was almost like, 'Oh, my God, we're up.' It was almost kind of panicky. We kind of got back on our heels a little bit. That happened more after their first goal."
Four minutes after Hoffman's goal, QND sophomore Leigh McLaughlin made a mad dash down the middle of the field, covering nearly two-thirds of the field before tucking a shot past QHS keeper Brittany Senator.
"She's really quick," Obert said.
She carried the momentum up the field with her.
"It brought our spirits up," forward Mercedee Esterlein said.
QND tied the game with 11 minutes to go in the half when Esterlein punched home an Alex Reis corner kick that caromed off the head of a QHS defender and to the far post.
"We realized we have to play as a team," Esterlein said. "We have to work at it."
Collectively, they set up the game-winning goal.
McLaughlin carried the ball to the right corner and sent a cross that sailed to the back post and bounced to the wing. Obert collected the loose ball and played it back into the box where she hit a low liner that Senator deflected to her right.
The ball, however, carried toward the post where Thomas beat her defender to the spot and knocked home the game.
"She came out of nowhere," Obert said.
It was all about effort.
"I fought my hardest to get to the ball," Thomas said.
Just like the Lady Raiders fought for survival.
"It shows we have heart and we're not going to give up," Obert said. "If we dig ourselves a hole, we're going to keep fighting."
-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366
