Cougars Ousted from GLVC Tournament

Box Score

Ed Huneke

November 4, 2005

         ST. LOUIS - The third time was the charm for the Quincy Hawks.
         For the third consecutive year, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Quincy men's soccer locked up in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. SIUE won the last two tournament meetings. Quincy took the latest with a 3-1 triumph over the No. 2-ranked Cougars.
         They played very well. They had a good game plan," said SIUE Coach Ed Huneke. "They were inspired. I applaud them."
         Dan O'Leary apparently was the most inspired with two goals and an assist on the eventual game-winner. O'Leary put the Hawks up 1-0 at 28:03 with an assist from Brad Niemann.
         It was the third consecutive game that SIUE had fallen behind 1-0. The Cougars, now 15-2-2, came back to defeat Missouri-Rolla 2-1. SIUE tied Bellarmine 1-1 and advanced in the GLVC quarterfinals. Again, the third time wasn't as fortunate.
         "It finally caught up with us," said Huneke. "Teams seem to solidify things on defense and you can't fall behind."
         SIUE tied the score 1-1 nearly three minutes later at 30:51 as Ross Beveridge scored his seventh goal of the season. Beveridge's score from 20 yards out tied him for the team lead in goal with Victor Pacheco and Mike Banner.
         Quincy, now 12-4-4, roared back another three minutes later as Mike DiSalvo punched in a shot off a double assist from Scott Smith and O'Leary.
         The Cougars certainly had their chances throughout the game, outshooting the Hawks 20-7. "We worked well and were on the doorstep a lot," said Huneke. "We didn't finish up our opportunities that we created."
         Beveridge led the Cougars with five shot while defender Kevin Thibodeau added four.
         O'Leary capped the scoring by stealing the ball from SIUE goalkeeper Nicholas Frasca at 77:00.
         Quincy, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, now advances to the GLVC Tournament finals to face league newcomer Rockhurst (13-5-1), which ousted Northern Kentucky (11-8-2) by the score of 3-1 in the other semifinal. Game time for the championship game on Sunday is 1 p.m. at Don Dallas Field in St. Louis.
         SIUE now must wait until late Monday to learn its fate for the NCAA Tournament. SIUE has been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation all season as well as No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region. The top three teams from each of the eight NCAA Division II regions advance to the national championships.
         Huneke said his team will look for an NCAA bid but must await word having just taken only its second loss of the season.
         "You always have to be able to deal with adversity," said Huneke. "You need to become better because of it."
                  -siue cougars-

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Players Mentioned

#7 Mike Banner: F/MF; 5' 10"; Junior

#10 Ross Beveridge: F; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#0 Nicholas Frasca: GK; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#9 Victor Pacheco: MF; 6' 2"; Senior

#22 Kevin Thibodeau: B; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#7 Mike Banner
: 5' 10"; Junior
: F/MF

#10 Ross Beveridge
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: F

#0 Nicholas Frasca
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: GK

#9 Victor Pacheco
: 6' 2"; Senior
: MF

#22 Kevin Thibodeau
: 5' 10"; Junior
: B