50 Years of Quincy Men's Soccer: 1964-73

This is the first in a series of five articles chronicling the first 50 years of Quincy University men's soccer. Each article will feature one decade of the program's history. This installment takes a look at the first decade from 1964 to 1973.

The Quincy College men's soccer team started with humble beginnings as a group of students kicking around a soccer ball on an open field on campus in the fall of 1963. Just a year later, the Hawks were born and a powerhouse had started.

The college's athletic director at the time, John Ortwerth, named Frank Longo, who had recently been hired as Ortwerth's assistant basketball coach, the head soccer coach. Longo put together the Quincy College team that took the field for the first time in 1964 against MacMurray College at then-Q Stadium.

The Hawks won their first-ever game, 3-2, with three goals by Mike Villa. They continued to win that season and completed their first campaign undefeated with an 8-0-1 record, winning the NAIA District 20 championship with a 1-0 win over Lake Forest. It was the first shutout of the season for the Quincy defense and goalkeeper Ken Husted.

The 1964 team returned to campus on Homecoming weekend as part of their 50^th anniversary and enjoyed the 2014 Hawks' win over Missouri S&T. That team was inducted into the QU Athletics Hall of Fame last year.

Roger Francour coached the Hawks for the next four seasons, assisted by Longo, despite having never seen a soccer match until the Quincy-MacMurray season-opening clash.

Francour would guide Quincy to a 9-2-1 record in his first season at the helm. The Hawks earned the right to host the NAIA Area I tournament and advanced to the championship game, but were defeated, 2-1, by Earlham.

The Hawks opened the 1966 season with a game at home against St. Louis University, which was a national power at that time. The Billikens came into the game with an all-time record of 89-6-2 and were the defending NCAA national champions. The Hawks, in just their third season defeated SLU, 2-1, in a game that put the program on the map. The season-opening win spurred the Hawks to an undefeated season and a national championship – the first in the school's history. In the national title game, the Hawks trounced Trenton State, 6-1.

If the Hawks were not an offensive juggernaut before, they became one in 1967. That squad still holds the record for goals scored in a season with 120 in just 15 games – an average of eight per game. The Hawks scored at least six goals in the first seven games of the season and scored 16 against Notre Dame that still stands a school record. Mike Villa's 10 goals in that game are also still the school record.

The Hawks' program-record 20-game winning streak ended against SLU in the middle of the season, but the team rolled through the national tournament winning its second straight national title with a 3-1 win over rival Rockhurst.

The Hawks came back in 1968 and finished the season with an 11-4 record. All four of their losses were by one goal, including in the national tournament where Quincy fell to Davis & Elkins, 2-1, as they sought a third straight national title.

That was the final season under Roger Francour as Jack Mackenzie took over the program in 1969 for the first of his 43 seasons as the Quincy coach.

The Hawks were 8-2-2 in their first season under Mackenzie and 15-1-2 in 1970 – their only loss coming in the NAIA national championship to Davis & Elkins, 2-0.

The Hawks returned in 1971 and finished with the season with their most wins in a season to date with a 17-2 record and a third national championship – the first of nine under Mackenzie. The Hawks were able to exact revenge on Davis & Elkins with a 1-0 win in the national title game. It was their third 1-0 win in the NAIA playoffs. The Hawks won their final 11 games in 1971, allowing just four goals in that time period.

Quincy extended its winning streak to 15 with four straight wins to start 1972 before a 3-1 defeat to Missouri-St. Louis. The Hawks finished the season 16-3 overall, but lost in the national tournament to Westmont. Quincy came back to defeat Keene State, 4-1, to finish third in the nation.

The Hawks capped their first decade with a 14-5-1 record and their fourth national championship, defeating Rockhurst, 3-0, in the title game. Quincy got off to a slow start – at least by the program's standards – going 5-5-1 in the first 11 games. The Hawks rallied to win their final nine games of the season.

The first decade of Quincy men's soccer kicked off a tremendous run for the Hawks that has lasted 50 years.

Overall records from 1964-73
Year    Record Coach Note
1964    8-0-1                Frank Longo               NAIA District 20 Champions
1965    9-2-1                Roger Francour
1966    13-0-0              Roger Francour           National Champions
1967    13-2-0              Roger Francour           National Champions
1968    11-4-0              Roger Francour
1969    8-2-2                Jack Mackenzie
1970    15-1-2              Jack Mackenzie           National Runners-Up
1971    17-2-0              Jack Mackenzie           National Champions
1972    16-3-0              Jack Mackenzie           National Third Place
1973    14-5-1              Jack Mackenzie           National Champions
124-21-7 4 National Championships

Top 25 of the First 25 Seasons
The following players from this decade were named to the Top 25 players of the first 25 seasons of Quincy men's soccer, announced in 1989.

Mike Villa (1964-67)
Carl Schwarzen (1966)
Edmundo Camacho (1966, 1969-71)
Tom Pollihan (1968-71)
Al Harte (1969-72)
Bill Fann (1971-74)
John Schneider (1971-72)
Matt Weiss (1971-74)
Mark Mathis (1972-73)
Jim Pollihan (1972-75)
Sam Bick (1973-75)
Neil Frederickson (1973-76)
Frank Vinciguerra (1973-76)

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