Mustangs give away lead, fall to Pride in final minutes

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The 24th-ranked Mount Mercy men's soccer team relinquished a three-goal lead over the final 25 minutes and dropped a crucial Heart of America Athletic Conference match to Clarke, 4-3, on Tuesday evening at Hadzic Field.

The Mustangs (8-3-4, 5-3-2 Heart) took an early lead when Matteo Anzallo set up Keita Karasawa's sixth goal of the season just two minutes into the match. Both teams had scoring chances throughout the first half, but it remained 1-0 at the break.

After scores by Ilija Kosoric and Robin Sarrett in the opening 20 minutes of the second half appeared to give Mount Mercy an insurmountable lead, the Pride (7-4-4, 4-4-2 Heart) began their comeback. Clarke notched three goals in the span of five minutes to level the match, then nailed the clincher with just over a minute to go.

It was a huge blow to a Mustang squad that entered the NAIA top 25 last week and has hopes of hosting a quarterfinal match in the Heart of America postseason tournament. Mount Mercy currently sits in a tie for fourth place in the league with one regular season match remaining. The top four in the final standings host opening round games on Nov. 3.

The Mustangs close out the regular season this Saturday, Oct. 28. They will host Baker (8-6-3, 4-5-1 Heart) on Senior Day with kickoff at 3:30 pm at Hadzic Field.