QU men’s soccer team salvages draw on Whitmore’s header late in home opener

QUINCY — A mild sense of relief mixed with some lingering frustration.

That adequately sums up how the Quincy University men’s soccer team felt walking away from Sunday’s 2-2 draw with North Michigan at Legends Stadium.

The Hawks surrendered a one-goal lead in the second half and had to fight, scrap and throw everything they had at the opposing goal in the five 10 minutes to net the equalizer on Ben Whitmore’s header off a George Ashby corner kick in the 86th minute.

“Definitely not what we were hoping for, but relief in the end I would say,” junior center back Grant Higgins said.

Still, the Hawks understand they cannot settle for that.

“It’s just little blips of concentration,” Whitmore said. “We have to stay focused and keep working hard.”

That’s doable.

“I think it’s little problems that need to get tweaked and we can absolutely do that,” Higgins said.

Providing a little positive vibe by rallying late should help.

Scoreless at halftime, the Hawks seized the lead four minutes into the second half when Kamou Harris took a pass from George Ashby, cut between two defenders and tucked a shot into the left side of the net.

Northern Michigan, which was picked last in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll but opened its season with a 1-0 victory at Wisconsin-Lutheran on Friday, responded by scoring in the 60th and 70th minutes to put QU’s back against a wall.

“We can’t crumble under the chaos,” QU coach Mike Carpenter said. “We have to find more consistency in there where we extend the periods of the game where we’re at our best and we decrease the negative ones.”

After a corner kick in the 83rd minute netted no result, the Hawks earned another corner in the 86th minute. Ashby took the corner from the left side and swung it to the far post where Whitmore elevated above everyone and drove a header into the far netting for the tying goal. 

“I felt I was going to win it and get my head on it and redirect it into the net,” Whitmore said. “And on this occasion I did.”

Both teams fended off any attacks over the final four minutes to earn the draw.

Northern Michigan outshot Quincy 12-8, but the Hawks enjoyed a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. They also owned an 11-3 edge in corner kicks.

“We need to get a full 90 minutes together,” Higgins said. “That’s what we’re lacking right now. We have some good quality boys and some nice depth. We just need to put a full 90 minutes together.”

From what Higgins has seen throughout the preseason and the first week of the regular season, he’s confident it’s coming.

“Intensity in training and commitment to each other, especially with so many new guys to show up and fully accept we need to do this one together,” Higgins said. “It’s good to see.”