GoPro:Through the eyes of the Lady Hawk Goalkeepers

2014 Lady Hawk Team Awards

MVP: Haylye Markway
Best Defender: Brittney Kuster
Best Midfielder: Haylye Markway
Best Attacker: Ashley Burton
Best Newcomer: Megan Swanson
Most Improved: Caroline Basler
Best Student-Athlete: Caroline Basler, Breezie Chapman, Morgan Roberts

GoPro: Day 1 Inside Session

Lady Hawks are Back!

Getting to know: Taylor & Kaleigh!

Legends Stadium: Phase 2 Promo

Let The Games Begin!

Taylor Wakeland #11

The amount of excitement that my teammates and I have for this upcoming season is surreal (and I know all of our awesome fans feel the same way!).  With our first official game being this upcoming Friday at Grand Valley State, it’s hard to contain my excitement!!  All of the hard work, sweat, hours of practice, and exhibition games has helped prepare us for this very day.  This is what we live for, the 90 minutes of getting to play the game we love with teammates we’ll never forget and memories that’ll be engrained in our minds and hearts forever. 

As a senior this year, I don’t think I could ask for a better opportunity than to play the reigning national champs the first game of our season.  We’ve been tested, gone through obstacles, and are more than prepared for this upcoming weekend.  One of my favorite quotes by Mia Hamm is “The backbone of success is...hard work, determination, good planning, and perseverance.”   I think this Lady Hawk team is the perfect example for this quote.  We are the one of the hardest working teams I know and on behalf of my teammates and myself I know we are willing to do whatever it takes to win.  That is what sets good teams apart from great teams.  The competitiveness and willingness this team has is something special and a characteristic that will shine through when needed most throughout the season when every game we play is a battle.  Nothing comes easy, but I know we are ready for it and have the motivation to be great.  Our team chemistry this year is something awesome to see, that not every team has.  I feel lucky to play on a team where the chemistry between us is so great, making playing the sport we all love that much better!

With the season officially starting this upcoming weekend, I look forward to proving as a team just how great we can truly be.  All of the fitness tests, 7 am practices, ice baths, and days of not being able to walk will finally be worth it.  There’s no greater feeling in the world than seeing hard work pay off and I know that feeling will come after this weekend.  As we approach this season full force, I am confident that we will come together as a team and have the determination, heart, and perseverance to EARN wins.  It will be tough, but I wouldn’t want to do it with any other people in the world.  Nothing worth having comes easy and I can’t wait to finally get my senior season finally started and make memories that will last a lifetime.  Stay tuned for upcoming videos and updates as we take our first roadtrip to Allendale, Michigan.

Taylor Wakeland

Senior Lady Hawk Captain

2014 Quincy Lady Hawks Opening Day!

Senior Year and Rolling into my last ever Preseason

Kayla Nurnberger #7

It’s less than seven days away before we report back to the good ol’ Q and I have never felt so many feelings rushing through my body, towards this coming season. I am going to be a senior this year… yeah that’s right a senior. Crazy right? I feel like I am just packing up all my stuff and getting ready for my first year of college. Man does it fly by. People weren’t kidding when they told me that as a freshman. I have never felt more pumped towards a season than this one. I think mainly because I’m stepping up in the big shoes now as we have the freshman looking up to us as leaders. I am so excited my sister will be up at Quincy with me for my last year. I can’t explain to people how awesome that feeling is of playing together on the field, as sisters for one more time.

There is a quote I have up in my room I like to read most days that says this: “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” This to me means a lot and I imagine a lot to my teammates if they read it. We as a team are very competitive and are very hard on ourselves. That is why I think we are so successful as a team. We all want the same thing and do everything it takes to get there. Preparing ourselves all summer making sure we are in tip top shape when day 1 of preseason is here. I always want to reach my goals I set for myself for example beating my two mile time each year. That is one of my personal goals that I try to reach. We all set goals for ourselves but as a team we have goals as well. “Win the next game” that is all that matters to us and what we focus on is the small goals to reach to get us to the bigger long term goals.

Realizing this is my last year of soccer at this level is crazy to me. I honestly don’t know how to feel about it because I have been training and playing soccer since I was four. It has been my life and I love this sport so much. I know coming into this season I am leaving every last drip of sweat, heart, and fight on that field because it is going to be my last time playing in this kind of atmosphere. I will not give up and I expect the same from my teammates. We have prepared ourselves as much as we can for preseason now all we have to do is go out there and do it! Dominate. Be Great. And show everyone what a lady Hawk is all about. (5%) Lets Gooooo! Can’t wait to see all my teammates and the new freshies all very soon!! It’s a Great Day to Be a Hawk!

Kayla Nurnberger
Senior Lady Hawk

Getting to Know: Natalie Quisenberry

Getting to Know: Swanson, Heiligenstein, Rief!

Another Year, Another Journey

Natalie Kuhlenberg #8

AHHH! It really seems like just yesterday that I was a freshman. They say that your high school and college years will pass you by, well they are FLYYINNG BY!! I never would have expected college to turn out the way it did for me. I was just excited to be able to play with my fellow Incarnate weirdoes Teeny, Molly, and Jodi.  Being a freshman, in 2011, we made it to the semifinals of the GLVC where we knocked off NKU which was such an amazing moment for us. Then making it to the finals and just losing in shoot outs! The GLVC Championship was so close we could taste it and I never thought I would be a part of something so amazing. Then we made our sixth appearance in the NCAA tournament which was an awesome opportunity as well. However, it was on to the next year 2012, my sophomore year. Coming into the season I could tell during the summer everyone put in their best efforts to train, because everyone was hungry for our season and wanted to make it back to the championship round and win. As always though, it was just looking at THE NEXT GAME. However, the season ended short for me as I tore my ACL in one of our pre-season games just the game after Sam Martinez one of our seniors had torn hers. As I was upset for maybe a day, I remember I was about to be walking into the locker room and Dave pulled me aside to tell me that I was going to be okay and I need to be strong for the team! And that’s what I did. Even though I was not on the field you can bet I was there on the sidelines cheering my team on and it was incredible to watch our team get the GLVC Championship my sophomore year. We got to host because of our awesome season. WE FINALLY GOT THE CHANCE. This team battled our way to get there. And even had another appearance in the NCAA game, hosting, in the Tsunami rain our team kept plugging away.

Next thing you know it, it was my junior year. Coming off an ACL injury I knew I had to work extra hard during the summer. Our team was hungry yet again for our season and wanted to get back to that GLVC finals round again. This next season, my junior year 2013, we made history! My sister was actually a freshmen this past season and so amazing to have her experience this with me!  Thanks to our amazing seniors and the strength of this team we went out with a BANG. Another amazing moment in my life that I cannot thank this team enough for, and I was able to be apart on and off the field. Another bonus was that we made it to the NCAA sweet 16 to have a match up with Grand Valley. In the blistering cold we battled and although calls didn’t maybe go our way and injuries had happened, we kept pushing through it. To say we made it to that round of the tournament was so awesome and we will work our hardest to get there again.

Now finally I can get to this upcoming season! Sorry for the long history post! Technically I am still a junior in soccer. Everyone loves to remind me. However, I am going to treat it as if I don’t have another season left! As it is the beginning of July we have had a couple months already to train. I can see everyone working hard with our off season workouts, doing those fitness tests, and strengthening our bodies to prevent injuries!  In our summer league games, I can see everyone being put in different positions, but it is nice to see that our team is going to be able to be versatile. I can still see that same fire that we have had the past three seasons and I cannot wait to get after it in August. We lost 7 amazing seniors and are now gaining some great incoming freshmen. It may be a year where people are being put in different positions to figure everything out, but there is one thing that will be there, our hunger. I know that as seniors (yes I am calling myself that) and the juniors and now sophomores we have that determination to get back to that championship round! I have never been with a team that has worked well together no matter what and has supported each other in every way. I am excited to see new faces and have them be a part of this amazing experience I have had the honor to be a part of.  As always this season will be a grind especially when we have such a big target on our backs. But we will come together as a team and will find a way to win. Just need to keep focusing on that next game and we will get there. I have a favorite quote that pertains to our team “The harder the struggle, the glorious the triumph”. This will always be in the back of my mind each pre-season test we take, and season tests we will face as well. Our team will find a way to grind through it and I cannot wait for this upcoming season! So stay tuned for another amazing season and come support the Lady Hawks!

Natalie Kuhlenberg (Kuhls)
Senior (redshirt junior) Lady Hawk

Getting to Know: Greubel, Lil Nurn, Mason!

Catchin' Up With Lindy!

Lindwedel #4

And another year is finishing up! I can't believe I am just a few weeks away from finishing my sophomore year. It has been a blast to say the least. We won our second GLVC championship and we were in the sweet sixteen of the national tournament. It has been a year I will never forget. We've been supported constantly by our families, fellow students, and boosters! Our boosters allowed us to get our brand new turf stadium, endless pasta meals to "carb up" for games, and our championship jackets and rings! We are one lucky group of girls.

This past weekend we finished our successful 2014 spring season! It was a gradual process of getting back into things outside, but being fit helped a lot. I remember our first spring practice outside. We were pretty rusty with our touch on the ball but man, were we running around like energizer bunnies! One thing I love about our team is our energy. Whether it be talking about what needs to happen next on the field, what we're having for dinner, or what funny thing happened to one of us…the energy is contagious.

If someone were watch a practice I think the first word out of their mouth to describe our team is competitive. Our team is committed to compete. We are constantly wanting to do better and expecting more from ourselves. The atmosphere at practice is fun, but never laid back! We're ready to get better and build confidence. In reality, there is nothing to lose. Spring season is the time to improve both as a team and individually. I really feel like we took advantage of learning new roles and formations to better prepare us for the Fall.

Now, we're headed into summer! Some of us will be busy working or taking classes at home. However, all of us will be focused on the Fall. It's crazy to say, but we really do all have the same mindset. Preseason is a huge test; not only is it physical but mental. Spring helped many players build their confidence and knowledge of each role. Now, we have the mindset to stay fit and master our position. I'm more than excited to get home, spend time with family and friends, and make some money, but I think we're all pumped for the Fall! We have a whole new batch of really talented freshman coming in and like usual, we have targets on our back. Our team has what it takes to make history and I can't wait to make that happen come August.

Taylor Lindwedel
Sophomore Lady Hawk

Spring Season Begins!

Markway #9

Our 2014 spring season officially began today and we started off the season with a great practice coming off of spring break. With the weather turning around, we will be able to take advantage of our new Jack Mckenzie field and go to goal! The team has been waiting for this since our last game in Duluth and today I could tell everyone was excited and happy to be playing again.

One word that describes this 2014 Lady Hawk team is, competitive. Since the new year, although we have been stuck inside, we have competed in futsal games and fitness tests and now we are able to take this competitiveness onto the field. The competitiveness and chemistry will allow our team to adjust to new roles and opportunities. Returning freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have stepped up and will continue to step up filling the positions needed to help our team have a successful spring season.

Our first spring game is this Saturday against the University of Missouri St. Louis at our home field. This is exciting because we will be able to grow as a team and work on ourselves individually. We will also be able to see how we have improved over the off season from all the hard work we have put in this winter. This team knows what it takes to be a championship team and I cannot wait to compete for another championship next fall.

Haylye Markway
Sophomore Captain Lady Hawk