[Men's Soccer] Mustangs pull away, advance to semifinals

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The top-seeded Mount Mercy men's soccer team broke open a tight game with five goals in the second half to defeat eighth-seeded Iowa Wesleyan, 6-1, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament on Sunday at Lower Kingston Field.

The match was scoreless for the first 41 minutes, but both teams got a goal before the half to make it 1-1 at the break. The Mustangs (11-5-2), who missed several scoring opportunities in the opening period, took advantage of those chances after intermission.

Sophomore forward Josip Druzijanic recorded a hat trick in the second half alone with goals in the 54th, 77th and 82nd minutes. Junior forward Sid Beck, who had Mount Mercy's first goal of the game, added another in the 73rd minute. Senior forward Cole Richmond capped off the scoring with a header from junior midfielder Vladimir Virovkic in the 86th minute.

Druzijanic also assisted a goal. Freshman forward Ramiro Alonso had two assists, senior defender Jay Petersen and junior forward Enrique Cortina one assist each. The Tigers (4-12-0) got one shot past senior goalkeeper Josh Putz, but he stopped the other four shots on goal for the Mustangs.

Mount Mercy hosts fifth-seeded Viterbo (Wis.) (8-7-4) in the MCC semifinals on Sunday, Nov. 6, at Lower Kingston Field. The start time will be set on Monday. The V-Hawks advanced on penalty kicks after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer against fourth-seeded Clarke in Dubuque.

Second-seeded Grand View, a 3-0 winner over seventh-seeded St. Ambrose, and third-seeded Ashford, who defeated sixth-seeded William Penn, 3-1, will square off in Sunday's other semifinal. The championship game of the MCC Tournament is Thursday, Nov. 10, hosted by the higher remaining seed.