Hayes, Quincy continue to push to earn berth in GLVC postseason tournament

QUINCY — Cole Hayes got his final weekend playing at Legends Stadium off to a rousing beginning.

His teammates all wanted to be part of the act, too.

Hayes, a senior forward, scored an unassisted goal in the 15th minute Friday night, propelling the Quincy University men’s soccer team to a 5-1 victory over Rockhurst and keeping hope alive it can climb its way back into the top eight in the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings.

The top eight at the end of the regular season qualify for the GLVC Tournament.

After back-to-back victories, Quincy owns a 6-6-2 overall record and a 4-5-2 mark in the league, leaving it sitting in ninth. Quincy is one game behind Missouri-St. Louis with three regular-season games remaining.

Quincy doubled its lead in the 41st minute when Kamou Harris scored off assists from Ben Whitmore and Spencer Van Nest. Two minutes into the second half, Quincy made it 3-0 when Marcel Kaspar scored his first goal of the season off an Aubrey Reis assist.

Jack Rhead finished off an Alsadiq Hasan assist in the 55th minute, and Bobby Nikolopoulos converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute.

Quincy owned an 8-2 edge in shots on goal, while Rockhurst had a 7-1 edge in corner kicks. Rockhurst also committed 17 fouls.

Quincy will play its final home game of the regular season at 2:30 p.m. Sunday against William Jewell.