msoc
Brendan Bittner
1
Bellarmine BU (8-8-3)
2
Winner Quincy QU (17-0-2)
Bellarmine BU
(8-8-3)
1
Final
2
Quincy QU
(17-0-2)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Bellarmine BU 1 0 1
Quincy QU 0 2 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Brendan Bittner

Hawks Win Thriller With Two Late Goals

QUINCY, Ill. – The No. 6-ranked Quincy University men's soccer team has developed a flair for the dramatic and that was on display on Sunday (Nov. 2) afternoon at Legends Stadium as the No. 1 seed Hawks took on No. 8 seed Bellarmine in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal.
 
The Hawks scored an equalizer at the 87:08 mark and followed up with the winner just one minute, 15 seconds later as they escaped an upset against the upstart Knights. When the teams met earlier this season in Louisville, Ky. the Hawks snapped a scoreless tie in the 83rd minute.
 
Sunday's win gives the Hawks (17-0-2) the right to host the GLVC Tournament Championships next weekend, beginning Friday (Nov. 7) night at Legends Stadium. Quincy will battle No. 4 seed Lewis, which beat Rockhurst, 1-0, on Sunday in Romeoville, Ill.
 
The Hawks dominated play against Bellarmine, which had a few opportunities on the counterattack against high-powered Quincy, but the Hawks snuffed out most of the chances.
 
The Knights (8-8-3) got their goal in the 39th minute as Ryan Fagan hit a hard shot that was destined to go well wide of goal, but Kai Qualah got a foot on it in an attempt to stop it from going out-of-bounds. The deflection, though, sailed toward the goal and bounced in as QU keeper Drew Duncan (Florissant, Mo./CBC) came to cover the near post on the initial shot.
 
The goal was Qualah's seventh of the season and it gave the Knights a chance to upset Quincy. It was the only shot on goal for Bellarmine in the game.
 
The Hawks had a 9-5 edge in shots in the first half and a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Quincy pressed the issue in the second half with its conference championship hopes on the line. The Knights remained organized on the defensive end, not letting the Hawks string their customary passes together and leaving the hosts frustrated.
 
The breakthrough finally came in the 88th minute. Sophomore midfielder Xhovani Dokaj (St. Louis, Mo./CBC) carried the ball through the midfield and played a pass to the right wing for redshirt-freshman forward Artan Emini (Yorkville, Ill.). Emini's low cross zipped through the box across the goalmouth and sophomore midfielder Taylor Reis (Quincy, Ill./QND) took a touch before pounding a volley inside the far post. It was Reis' third goal of the season.
 
With the equalizer in hand, the Hawks continued to bomb forward and scored at the 88:23 mark. Senior midfielder Steve McAnany (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney) touched a short pass ahead for senior forward Jordan Roberts (Durham, England/Gilesgate), who found some rare space in front of him. He rifled a low, bending shot into the lower-90 from 23 yards out to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
 
The Hawks safely saw out the remaining 97 seconds to preserve the win and advance in the tournament.
 
Quincy – the top-ranked team in the Midwest Region – will now take on the Flyers on Friday (Nov. 7) night. The Hawks beat Lewis, 2-1, in overtime in Romeoville on Oct. 17. Kickoff time will be released at a later time.
 
QU
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