Crane scores twice as QU’s success offensively topples Rockhurst

QUINCY — Lauren Crane and her Quincy University women’s soccer teammates honestly can admit it pays to practice.

The struggles offensively — four goals in their last seven games — led to Hawks coach Samuel Thomas devoting much of this week’s training to drills designed to put the ball in the back of the net. Crane, the senior forward, followed through and did it twice Friday night.

She punched a goal into the lower right side of the net in the 20th minute and converted a penalty kick in the 79th minute as Quincy picked up a 2-0 victory over Rockhurst at Legends Stadium to kickstart the final home weekend of the season.

“We spent a lot of time on finishing,” Crane said. “We knew we had been playing good soccer all season. It’s been very frustrating because we haven’t been able to capitalize on our chances. With the focused practices this week, it’s 100 percent helped. And we are so, so happy we won.”

They have been even more elated to score.

Quincy (5-8, 4-7 GLVC) had been shut out five times this season and scored just 15 goals prior to Friday night. Only 45 percent of its shots had been on-goal.

An aggressive approach changed things as Quincy pelted the Rockhurst defense with nine shots in the first 17 minutes, including three on goal. Crane had the 10th shot of the game, beating Rockhurst keeper Megan Meyers for the 1-0 advantage.

“The last few games, we’ve had those chances,” said Crane, who leads the team with seven goals. “The bounces haven’t gone our way. We haven’t been in the right spots. So it was a huge, ‘Oh, my gosh, one worked out for us. We got one.’ From there, it was a lot of defensive pressure to ensure we kept the lead.

“If we came out firing, came out playing like we have all season, we knew we were going to get results.”

Quincy will face William Jewell on Sunday in the final home game of the regular season. The game time is still to be determined. It is scheduled for a noon start, but it could get bumped up an hour or more depending on the weather forecast.