Box Score QUINCY, Ill. — For 85-plus minutes on Sunday, the Bellarmine University men's soccer team thwarted the high-powered attack of No. 6 Quincy and threatened to pull off a shocker in the Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinals.

But then the unbeaten and top-seeded Hawks showed why they possess one of the nation's best and most exploses offenses, scoring two goals a little over a minute apart in the waning minutes to deliver a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the upset-minded and eighth-seeded Knights.

Bellarmine dropped to 8-8-3 on the season. The Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament consists of only five teams. Sunday was likely the last performance of the season for the Knights.

And it was a valiant, devastating and perhaps inescapable way for the Knights to likely conclude a rollercoaster of a 2014 season. Health-wise, Bellarmine dealt with dogged injury and illness issues throughout the year, forcing BU Coach Tim Chastonay to constantly juggle his lineup and insert players into unfamiliar positions. Results were just as unpredictable: Bellarmine began GLVC play 2-6-1 before rallying to go 4-0-2 over its final six games to clinch the eighth and final spot in the conference tournament on the final day of the regular season.

Bellarmine rode that wave into its second meeting of the season with Quincy (17-0-2), which is the top-ranked team in the region and defeated the Knights 1-0 on Sept. 19. In that game, the Hawks posted their lone goal with roughly seven minutes left.

On Sunday, Quincy duplicated the crunch-time feat, only this time with the tying goal and with less time remaining. With just under three minutes left in regulation, the Hawks — who would surpass 20 shots — finally broke through against Bellarmine's defense as Taylor Reis tied it at 1-1 in the 88th minute off dual assists from Xhovani Dokaj and Artan Emini.

After finally getting on the scoreboard, Quincy didn't waste any time in doing it again. A little over a minute later, Jordan Roberts blasted his GLVC-leading 21st goal of the season off a feed from Steve McAnany for a 2-1 lead with only 1:37 left. Roberts entered the game as the second-leading goal scorer in the nation, while the Hawks' offense as a whole was ranked fifth.

Ultimately, it was one of many drama-filled games this season for Bellarmine, which lost several thrillers in conference play early on only to win several others over the final two weeks. The Knights advanced to the GLVC Tournament only after rallying to beat McKendree 2-1 on a last-minute score in regulation followed by a game-winning goal inside two minutes left in the second overtime, and then surging back from three goals down in the second half to pull off an improbable 3-3 tie with Southern Indiana.

Sunday's emotional outcome was par for the course for the year. Bellarmine made it a tense affair by scoring in the 39th minute as senior forward Kai Qualah netted his seventh goal of the season off an assist from senior midfielder Dan Schiavi.

The Knights took that 1-0 lead into halftime and maintained it all the way to the 87:08 mark of the second half. Quincy held a 25-6 advantage in shots, including 11-1 in shots on goal.

Bellarmine sophomore goalkeeper Tommy Hebert corralled eight saves.

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