Motherhood changes everything for Schissel, who resigns as QU women’s soccer coach

QUINCY — Mackenzie Schissel hadn’t ever considered a life away from the game.

“I was coaching until the day I died,” the Quincy University women’s soccer coach said.

Then along came Marlee.

The 1-year-old daughter of Schissel and her husband, Matt, who is the QU head baseball coach, made the coaching couple reassess everything and come to a hard truth. Marlee deserved more of their time and attention.

“I didn’t expect motherhood to change me this much,” Schissel said. “But it does quickly. Making sure her best interest is in mind at all times is the priority for us.”

With that in mind, Schissel submitted her resignation effective immediately as the Hawks’ head coach. 

“I’m happy with the decision,” Schissel said. “I think it’s the right time to do it also. Obviously having the schedule of having two college coaches in the same household is not the easiest. Then add a baby to it and it gets tougher. So it’s been in the back of mind since last October.”

Schissel has been a part of the QU program for six seasons, spending the first two as a graduate assistant, one as an assistant coach and three as the head coach. The Hawks went 10-27-13 during her three seasons at the helm, going from two victories her first season to a 4-10-3 mark this fall.

QU tied for eighth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference but lost the tiebreaker to Truman State for a spot in the league’s postseason tournament.

The Hawks have played in the GLVC Tournament only once in the last six seasons, and this year’s tie for eighth was their best finish since the 2021 COVID-forced spring season.

“To see the progress the last couple of years get put into place and create something to build off of is really encouraging,” Schissel said.

The Hawks are expected to return their top three scorers from this fall — junior Ella Wolfard, sophomore Reegan Hess and freshman Daniella Segall — and recently signed a pair of Hannibal products in Abbie Martin and Ashley Davis.

“The best part are the players and the people I get to work with every day,” Schissel said. “The belief that they have in the program when they come here and the continued trust they have in us to lead them is something that there is no other feeling like.

“But getting to do something you love every single day is hard to call it a job when it doesn’t feel like work. That’s the best part.”

Schissel plans to continue to work in the world of athletics, while her husband enters his fourth season as the QU baseball coach, having gone 112-62 in his three seasons.

“Quincy is home for us,” Schissel said.