The 2011 boys soccer team stumbled into the postseason, going 2-3-1 in the last six games of the regular season, but they racked off seven straight victories to claim the school’s first state championship in 26 years.
The Raiders opened the postseason with a 9-1 victory over Athens, then needed a goal from Taylor Reis to secure a 1-0 victory over Pleasant Plains in the Class 1A regional held at QND. Alex Rinella scored twice in the first 20 minutes to help the Raiders knock off Teutopolis 4-0 in the sectional semifinal at Raymond Lincolnwood, then used an own goal in the first minute to spark a 5-0 victory over Carlinville in the sectional title game.
The most exciting game in Notre Dame’s postseason run came in the super-sectional at O’Fallon. The Raiders allowed two goals in the first four minutes of the second half to fall behind 3-1 to Columbia. Taylor Reis scored on a rebound with 23 minutes remaining, then Parker Reis tied the score with a blast from 30 yards out with 11 minutes remaining. Blake Rupp’s goal just 1 minute, 35 seconds into overtime gave the Raiders a 4-3 victory.
Parker Reis connected on two more long-range shots in a 2-0 victory over Francis Parker in the semifinals of the state tournament, held at the Corn Crib in Normal. Two second-half goals by Rinella gave QND a 2-0 victory over Lisle in the state championship game. Goalkeeper Mark Anderson backed the defense with a pair of shutouts.
Luke Mayfield led a balanced scoring attack with 14 goals. Rinella finished with 11, Andrew Allen and Connor Reis had nine each, and Parker Reis had eight goals. Taylor Reis had a team-high nine assists to go with seven goals for Notre Dame, which finished 20-6-2.
Team members were Cooper Reis, Zeke Little, Tucker Reid, Denver Bradley, Connor Reis, Drew Ellerman, Mark Anderson, Andrew Allen, Blake Rupp, Austin Keck, Aiden McDonnell, Nathan Dreyer, Jason Darnell, Adam Riggs, Tyler Reid, Taylor Reis, Damian Ehrhardt, Jordan Zanger, Luke Mayfield, Parker Reis, Brendan Smith, Keegan McDonald, Jay Goodwin and Alex Rinella. Patrick Kistner was the athletic trainer. Greg Reis was the head coach, and Chris George and Dave White were assistant coaches.
"I would like to thank the QND HOF committee for putting the 2011 soccer team into the Hall of Fame. It was an amazing season, capped off by the state championship. This team was led by 14 seniors who were great leaders and kept the game fun. The super-sectional win over Columbia was the key and showed the true character of never-give-up spirit they possessed. What a great group of young men!"
—Greg Reis