CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- First-half goals by freshman forward Kandice Kiernan and senior midfielder Beth Samek powered eighth-seeded Mount Mercy to a 2-0 win over ninth-seeded Iowa Wesleyan in the first round of the 2009 Midwest Collegiate Conference Women's Soccer Tournament on Wednesday at Lower Kingston Field.

It's the first postseason victory in school history for the Mustang women's soccer team, which started varsity competition in 1999. Sophomore forward Mackenzie Skay assisted Kiernan's goal in the 28th minute before Samek's unassisted score eight minutes later gave the Mustangs (8-10-1) a 2-0 advantage. Senior goalkeeper Katie Manning stopped 10 shots by the Tigers, who finish the season at 7-10-2 overall.

Mount Mercy advances to Saturday's MCC quarterfinals, where they face top-seeded St. Ambrose (16-1-1) at 2:00 p.m. in Davenport. The Queen Bees handed the Mustangs a 6-0 road defeat on Sept. 30.

Other matchups on Saturday include seventh-seeded William Penn (7-9-1, 2-5-1 MCC) at second-seeded Clarke (7-5-4, 5-1-2 MCC), sixth-seeded Waldorf (7-10-1, 2-5-1 MCC) at third-seeded Grand View (7-9-2, 4-2-2 MCC), and fifth-seeded Ashford (11-5-1, 4-3-1 MCC) at fourth-seeded Viterbo (Wis.) (7-9-1, 4-3-1 MCC).

The MCC semifinals are slated for Saturday, Nov. 7, with the championship game on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The higher seed hosts each match throughout the tournament. For a complete tournament bracket and other news, log on to midwestcollegiateconference.com.