First-half outburst puts away Graceland

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- A goal by Oguzhan Bozkan (SO/Nuremberg, Germany) and two by Thomas Bean (SO/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) during the opening half powered the Mount Mercy men's soccer team past Graceland, 4-0, in Heart of America Athletic Conference action at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.

Bozkan headed in a corner kick by Kevin Kastl (SR/Schwabach, Germany) for the game's initial score in the 26th minute. Bean added goals in the 31st and 41st minutes to give the Mustangs more breathing room. Mount Mercy never let the Yellowjacket offense get going as Matia da Fonseca stopped all three Graceland shots on frame in the match. Nolan Armstrong (SR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) tacked on another goal in the 86th minute to finish off the scoring.

Mount Mercy (7-4-2, 4-2-1 Heart) finds itself in a tie for fourth place in the Heart with Baker (Kan.) (7-4-3, 4-2-1 Heart), while Graceland (6-4-2, 3-3-1 Heart) dropped to sixth. The Mustangs host 18th-ranked Missouri Valley (8-4-0, 3-4-0 Heart) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.