Opportunistic Mustangs win season opener

JOLIET, Ill. -- The Mount Mercy men's soccer team had fewer opportunities than St. Francis (Ill.), but the Mustangs capitalized on a pair of goal scoring chances to defeat the Fighting Saints, 2-0, in the 2021 season opener at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

Mount Mercy (1-0-0) hosts intra-city rival Coe in their home opener on Sunday at 7:00 pm at Hadzic Field at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex. After that, the Mustangs go to St. Ambrose on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 6:00 pm before returning home for non-conference home matchups against Iowa Wesleyan on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 6:00 pm and Hannibal-LaGrange on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 4:30 pm.

Yu Sasaki, Mount Mercy's all-American midfielder, finished a nice lead by Oguzhan Bozkan and Jonah Dancer to give the Mustangs a 1-0 advantage less than two minutes into Thursday's match. Sasaki later assisted Thomas Bean's goal in the 87th minutes to seal the win. In between goals, St. Francis out-shot Mount Mercy, 20-11, including an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal, but Mustang goalkeeper Lucca Munhoz was up to the task, stopping eight shots in full time.