CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Fourth-seeded Mount Mercy let a 3-0 lead slip away in the second half of Sunday's quarterfinal, but after two scoreless overtimes, the Mustangs won the shootout, 6-5, over fifth-seeded Clarke to advance to the semifinals of the 2009 Midwest Collegiate Conference Men's Soccer Tournament.
Sophomore midfielder Cole Richmond scored the first of three straight goals by the Mustangs (7-6-6) on a corner kick and touch by freshman forwards Jose Alvarez and Enrique Cortina. Mount Mercy took its 1-0 lead into halftime, then added a pair of goals a minute apart early in the second period.
Sophomore midfielder Nebojsa Jevtovic converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute and sophomore defender Jay Petersen's header from Alvarez in the 55th minute put the Mustangs in front, 3-0.
The Crusaders (6-8-4) answered quickly as Kraig Moore cashed in his own penalty kick in the 56th minute. In the 74th minute, Mirek Baran set up Fredrik Rost to get Clarke within a goal at 3-2. Just seven minutes from the end of regulation, Crusader goalkeeper Phillip Flores had the wind at his back and sent a long kick down the field, where Matthew Carlson punched it by sophomore goaltender Nenad Simovic to even the match at 3-3.
Two minutes into the first overtime, Alvarez was sent off after his second yellow card, which put Mount Mercy a man down for what would be the next 18 minutes. Simovic and the Mustang defense kept the match even, forcing a shootout at Lower Kingston Field.
Mount Mercy kicked first in the shootout and connected on their first three attempts before Clarke goalkeeper Charlie Fast, who replaced the injured Flores for the shootout, stopped Petersen's penalty shot. The Crusaders made their fourth penalty kick, and after freshman midfielder Vladimir Virokvic made Mount Mercy's final shootout goal, it was up to Simovic to keep the Mustangs alive.
He did just that, deflecting Carlson's shot to end the initial shootout in a 4-4 tie. With the shootout extended, Mount Mercy sophomore midfielder Denis Krdzalic and Clarke's Rost made the next two kicks. Junior forward Marko Urlic gave the Mustangs a 6-5 advantage, then Simovic made his second sensational save on the Crusaders' Izzy Hamsa to send Mount Mercy to next weekend's semifinals.
The Mustangs will travel to Clinton to take on top-seeded Ashford (16-0-2) on Sunday, Nov. 8. The two teams played to a scoreless draw in their regular season meeting on Sept. 15 in Clinton. The Saints defeated eighth-seeded St. Ambrose, 2-0, on Sunday.
Second-seeded Viterbo (Wis.) hosts third-seeded Grand View in Sunday's other semifinal. The V-Hawks needed double overtime to defeat seventh-seeded William Penn, 1-0, and the Vikings defeated sixth-seeded Iowa Wesleyan, 4-0. The MCC championship game will be Thursday, Nov. 12. For a complete tournament bracket and other news, log on to midwestcollegiateconference.com.
