The Saints came into the conference-opening meeting with the Mustangs on a five-game winning streak and one of just a handful of unbeaten teams in the country.
In a game marked by physical play and stellar defensive efforts, Ashford was unable to push a goal across the net even though the Saints kept offensive pressure on Mt. Mercy in regulation.
Ashford outshot Mt. Mercy 19-17, and shot attempts by Vedran Ilic of Rockford, Ill., Nathan Billany of Yorkshire, England, and Soroush Kalhor of Rock Island, Ill., had a legitimate shot of squeezing by Mustangs' goalkeeper Nenad Simovic.
Simovic cradled a header by Kalhor for a save in the second overtime with just over a minute remaining. A follow-up header by Kori Phillips of Pittsburgh, Pa., sailed wide after a corner kick by Rafael Machado of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
All-MCC midfielder Michael Handley of Webb City, Mo., coming off his first career goal in AU's win over Calumet College of St. Joseph last Saturday, nearly netted his second goal of the year when his shot in the first overtime hit the post.
Saints' junior goalkeeper Nick Roman saved a season-high seven shots against Mt. Mercy for his fourth consecutive shutout. AU has not yielded a goal dating back to the game against Coe College (Sept. 1), or roughly around 380 minutes.
Ashford faces non-conference opponent Knox College on Saturday with the game set to begin at 2 p.m.
