Mustangs drop finale, seeded seventh in postseason tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mount Mercy and Baker had everything to play for in Saturday's regular season finale at Hadzic Field and it was Damian Bair's goal in the 70th minute that clinched a postseason berth for the Wildcats and saddled the 23rd-ranked Mustangs with the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament that begins next week.

Baker (9-6-3, 6-3-2 Heart) came in needing a win just to get into the Heart of America Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship, while a victory by Mount Mercy would have locked up the No. 3 seed and a home quarterfinal match. Instead of hosting on Friday, the Mustangs face a road contest against second-seeded William Penn at 7:00 pm at Drost Field in Oskaloosa.

After Bair's goal, Mount Mercy was forced to up the intensity and that almost cost them. The Mustangs fought off two penalty kicks by the Wildcats' leading scorer, Gyorgy Kamaras. Alejandro Cuende saved the first attempt and Kamaras missed the next as well. In the end, Baker held on and earned the No. 8 seed and a matchup with top-seeded Missouri Valley on Friday.

Mount Mercy (8-4-4, 5-4-2 Heart) gets another shot at the 17th-ranked Statesmen (11-3-4, 6-2-3 Heart) in the quarterfinals. It was William Penn that handed the Mustangs their worst defeat of the season, a 6-1 loss in Oskaloosa on Oct. 11. Friday's quarterfinal winners move on to the Heart semifinals on Nov. 7, with the finals slated for Nov. 10.