By MATT SCHUCKMAN
Herald-Whig Sports Writer
Parker Reis doesn't believe being the defending state champion changes anything. The Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team still has to prepare to be tested night in and night out the way the Raiders always have. That means relentless effort in practice. "It's still the same," said Reis, a senior midfielder who started on last year's team that won the Class 1A state championship, beating Lisle 2-0 in the title game. "It really is. We're trying to get better." In time, QND coach Greg Reis believes that will happen. "We all realize it is kind of a work in progress," said Greg Reis, entering his 17th season at QND. "Halfway through the season, we have to be better than we were at the start. And definitely better at the end. Potential-wise, I like the potential of this group. "The ability is there to repeat. They are starting to see that a little bit. They just have to keep working day in and day out." The Raiders' efforts should alleviate their biggest concern -- depth. QND graduated 14 seniors from the title team and has only 25 players in the entire program. It has forced the coaching staff to adjust the junior varsity schedule, alter some drills in practice and throw underclassmen into the mix in hopes they mature quickly. "There are a lot of guys getting a lot of touches on the ball," Greg Reis said. "The JV guys are getting a lot of exposure to a varsity offense coming at them. It's difficult. What we have to do is we have to create depth. We talked about that last year going into the season because we had some guys who hadn't played a lot. Even more so this year. "We have several key guys who are returning. We have a lot of good players underneath those guys who haven't had the experience on the varsity and are really going to have to step up." Front to back, there are questions. Who is going to score? Who anchors the defense? How potent can the Raiders be on restarts and free kicks? The answers will come in time. "We have to have a lot of composure," Parker Reis said. "Being able to work with each other a lot better is key." It will be up to an experienced midfield to make it happen. Taylor Reis, a senior, was an all-sectional selection last year who is receiving significant interest from college coaches. He's a playmaker offensively who can control the entire field. Parker Reis adds depth as a defensive midfielder and is opportunistic at the offensive end. Senior Nathan Dreyer is a quality marking back who can move up and play the midfield and will find himself in the mix at all times. "A lot of our skill players are going to be right up the middle," said Greg Reis, who also has a talented keeper in junior Zeke Little. "The strength of our midfield play should be able to open it up for the guys on the wings and the guys up front." There should be plenty of attackers. "It's going to be goals by committee," Greg Reis said. "Right now, we don't have a true proven forward." He has players like Brendan Smith and Adam Riggs who can make things happen offensively. They will get plenty of opportunities to see what they can do. Their teammates have faith in them. "We're very talented," Parker Reis said. "We're more talented than last year I believe." If so, a repeat isn't out of the question. -- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366
