St. Louis, Mo. - The Quincy University women's lacrosse team ended their season this afternoon (April 26) against the one-seed Maryville University in their first conference tournament appearance in history. Despite two lightning delays and electric offense from the Saints, the Hawks walked away with their heads high. 

The Hawks allowed three goals before slinging one into the net in the first quarter. Danielle Robinson moved around the Saints defense and had powerful shot in front of the net that gave the Hawks some much needed confidence. The Hawks played more aggressive up top, at one point almost forcing a turnover on the Saints goalkeeper at the end line. The rain started back up shortly after, but it didn't bother the Hawks as freshman Anni Moran scored the Hawks' second goal in the mist. 

Moran served another ball to the back of the Saints' net off a pass from Emily Leal. After giving up a free position goal, the Hawks got excited, winning the draw control and forcing six shots in three minutes upon the Saints. With five to go in the second quarter, both teams reported to their locker rooms for a lightning delay. The teams resumed play and cut their halftime to five minutes to stay on schedule. 

Goalkeeper Taylor Young replaced Kelly McClure for the final thirty of the game. McClure, named GLVC Goalkeeper of the Year just this morning, made five saves in her final game as a Hawk, finishing just under 800 saves in her five-year career. Amelia Ham got back-to-back goals in the third and Robinson drew a free position shot and forced it past the goalkeeper to give the Hawks six before the final fifteen minutes of play. 

The Hawks battled in the final quarter, spending a lot of time in their defensive third. After struggling to get near the Saints' goal, the Hawks finally sent one into the net in the final three seconds of the game, Robinson to Patricia Chavira. Despite a 23-7 loss, the Hawks were accomplished and proud after today's match. 

"I can't express how proud I am of this team," said head coach Kathelene Kim. "To think five years ago we were playing a man down and struggling to catch the ball, and now, we've made it to a conference tournament. Each year we've progressed and chipped away at our goals. Its a great feeling to finally  be able to see the fruits of our labor between the all-conference awards and today's appearance."

Today marked the final game for nine of the Hawks--Sarah Conroy, Kara Wilhelm, Ainslie Reynolds, Patricia Chavira, Tori Ikeda, Katlin Soriano, Kelly McClure, Danielle Robinson, and Taylor Young. Among these women are multiple All-GLVC selections, a major GLVC award winner, and five players who helped begin the Quincy women's lacrosse team in 2020. These ladies built the program over the past five years and have shaped the future of women's lacrosse at Quincy University through their hard work. 

"I'd like to send a special thank you to our seniors who lead us here and paved the way for our underclassmen. We couldn't have done it without them," Kim noted. "And another thank you to my amazing staff. It has been a wild ride. The bar has been set for next season, and I can't wait to see what this team does next."