Toughness comes into question after QU men’s soccer team squanders pair of two-goal leads

QUINCY — The determination and moxie it takes to hold onto what many suggest is the most strenuous lead in soccer is what the Quincy University men’s soccer team hasn’t shown.

At least not yet.

Monday night, in a Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup delayed a day due to transportation issues, the Hawks twice squandered a two-goal lead, allowing Missouri S&T to score twice in a six-minute span of the second half and earn a 3-3 draw at Legends Stadium.

“It just shows where our toughness is and what we’re lacking,” an exasperated QU coach Mike Carpenter said. “It’s all we’ve talked about, and the reality is we have to keep trying to get more out of the group. If we don’t get it out of the group, then we’ll have to address it in recruiting.”

The Hawks’ thunderous start made it seem like it would not be as taxing at the end.

Less than two minutes into the match, midfielder George Ashby played a ball from the right side of the penalty area to the goal mouth where Kamou Harris redirected it into the net for a goal and 1-0 lead.

It was one of four shots by the Hawks in the first eight minutes.

“We had other chances and could have scored more than once,” Carpenter said. “Real high quality chances. In hindsight, we should have done more with those.”

The lead turned into a two-goal advantage in the 28th minute when Ben Scotford played a ball from the right side to the far post where Bobby Nikolopoulos finished it with a diving header.

However, with 1:20 remaining in the half, the Miners cut the deficit in half as Andreou Afxentis headed in a long throw-in.

“Conceding that goal changed the momentum of the game,” Carpenter said. “It gave them courage and confidence and took some air out of our sails. To be fair, we did score first in the second half and went up 3-1. We just didn’t see the game out.”

QU seemed to snare the momentum in the 58th minute when Harris set up Marcel Kaspar for a goal and the 3-1 lead. The Miners never backed down and scored in the 65th minute as Sigurd Semlitsch headed in a free kick from the right wing. The game-tying goal came in the 71st minute as Jacob Bandy flipped in a touch from Jacob Jorgenson after QU failed to clear the ball.

“The group, right now, is not capable of a complete 90-minute performance,” Carpenter said. “It’s a night kickoff and it’s still hot, so we have to use some subs. We can’t have the level drop as much as it did in the first half.”

The Hawks (2-3-3, 0-2-1 GLVC) will be at home for Homecoming weekend, playing host to McKendree on Friday and Maryville on Sunday.