CLINTON, Iowa - The Ashford University (7-0-1, 0-0-1 MCC) men's soccer team scored three goals in the second half to edge out non-conference opponent Cornell College (3-5, 0-0 IIAC) on Wednesday.

The Saints kept their unbeaten record intact before heading into a pair of pivotal weekend games against MCC foe Viterbo University on Saturday and nationally ranked Graceland University on Sunday.

Senior Eddie Garza of Rockford, Ill., recorded his team-leading fifth goal of the year, Soroush Kalhor of Rock Island, Ill., and Nick De Backer of Antwerp, Belgium, each recorded their fourth goals of the fall while Garza's younger brother, freshman Geraldo, tallied his third score.

The Rams put an end to Ashford's five-match defensive scoreless streak, scoring on a second-half goal by Sungeun Kim. Up to that point, the Saints hadn't yielded a goal since Sept. 1 on the road against Coe College.

"We were glad to get the win tonight and we went up against a Cornell team that was better than what I thought our team might have expected," AU Head Coach Richard Markham said. "We were a little flat, played too deep not to get beat by a couple of their speedy forwards and couldn't really get into the flow that we wanted."

Geraldo Garza put the Saints on the board first in the 17th minute, trailing a play after sophomore midfielder Rafael Machado of Sao Paulo, Brazil, blasted a shot on a goal that deflected off Cornell goalkeeper Ben Alleva and the post.

De Backer ripped the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal five minutes into the second half on a feed down the right side of the field by senior Mike Lentini of Belvidere, Ill.

Machado provided a no-look pass to assist Kalhor's goal in the second half, his fifth helper of the year. He maneuvered around a pair of defenders and used a backwards pass off his heel to find a darting Kalhor.

"The score doesn't really show how the game was, even if we won by three goals," Machado said afterwards. "There were times where we probably got a little bit lazy and we'll need to correct that going into this weekend."

Reigning MCC Defensive Player of the Week Michael Handley of Webb City, Mo., had a penalty kick attempt turned away after Lentini drew a foul near the baseline.

The MCC Offensive Player of the Week Eddie Garza put the final goal on the scoreboard with about 14 minutes remaning.

Ashford now turns its attention to Viterbo on Saturday, hosting the V-Hawks in a conference matchup with huge implications. Markham will have a day to prepare his squad for a game the following day on the road at Graceland, who has been ranked as high as 10th in the country.

"I've already told our team not to worry about Sunday (at Graceland) because I want to see where we stack up and nothing is going to take the luster off of that game," Markham said. "If we can beat Viterbo this weekend, we're going to have to have a shot at competing for a conference title. This is where we'll find out if Ashford is a pretender or a contender."