QUINCY, Ill. - The Quincy University men's lacrosse team got its season underway on Saturday (Feb. 10) playing host to the Cardinals of William Jewell College in the programs first ever lacrosse match. The Hawks welcomed WJC to the league with 15 goals and a loss, using four goals from Jayme Brain and three from Christian Czarny to fuel a 15-7 winner, kicking off the 2024 campaign on the right foot. 

The first quarter was all Quincy as the Hawks found the back of the net on three occasions. Jordan Ernst got the scoring going at the 13:38 mark, taking the honors of the seasons first goal. 

A few minutes later, Brain tallied his first of the Spring on an assist from Colin Usher before a nearly 11-minute stretch of cottonmouth bit both sides, ceasing the scoring until a last-second goal from Czarny made it 3-0 after the first 15 minutes. 

William Jewell got a couple back to open the second frame of play before a goal from Caidyn Prediger off a feed from Zackary Springborn made it 4-2. Shortly after, Brain netted his second to press the lead further. QU entered the locker room at the half with a 5-3 advantage. 

The Hawks offensive unit exploded in the third quarter, scoring six times. A man-up goal from Blaine Lowrance and another score for Ernst made it 7-4 QU at the 9:45 mark. 

Back-to-back goals for Czarny, followed by a pair of Cardinal goals and two more scores for Brain brought the score to 11-6 after three quarters of action from QU Stadium. 

QU kept its foot on the peddle, netting four more goals while only surrendering one in the final 15 minutes.

Mason Marano scored a man-up goal along with a host of new faces finding the back of the net in their first match. Haakon Steen, Jackson Houston and Sean Usher rounded out the scoring in the match to polish off the 15-7 victory. 

Ryan Riggs added another tally to his individual wins record between the pipes for QU, earning the victory with 18 saves in a full 60 minutes of work. 

Next up for the Hawks is a date with GLVC foe Maryville University in St. Louis, MO for a non-conference showdown on Thursday (Feb. 15). The contest is slated for a 1:00 PM start time.