ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The 24th-ranked Ashford University (18-0-2 overall) men's soccer team wanted to make a statement before the final national rankings are released this week.

Point taken.

The still undefeated regular-season MCC champion and top-seeded Saints inched closer to the coveted conference tournament crown with a 4-0 blanking of fourth-seeded Mt. Mercy College (7-7-6) on Sunday.

With three first-half goals and another hat trick from senior Eddie Garza of Rockford, Ill., Ashford's offense sprang to life in one of two Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal affairs.

The thrilling win earned the Saints a date with No. 2 seed Viterbo University in the finals of the conference tourney. The V-Hawks pulled out a late, 3-2 victory this afternoon against No. 3 seed Grand View University in LaCrosse, Wis.

A game time and location has not yet been determined for Thursday's MCC Championship game.

First-year Ashford Head Coach Richard Markham was elated with his team's performance afterward, considering the two teams were scoreless in their regular season double-overtime meeting on Sept. 15.

"Today, we wanted to come out and exploit some matchups we felt had a few advantages," Markham said. "I told our team at the half our goal was to get a shutout, stay healthy and not pick up any silly cards."

AU junior goalkeeper Nick Roman thwarted each and every Mustang offensive attempt in goal, recording his 11th shutout of the season. He made a season-high 11 saves, including a pair on one-on-one breakaways.

Garza wreaked havoc on the Mustangs' once seemingly impenetrable defense when they visited Clinton in September, blasting three goals for his third hat trick this year alone.

Garza has 14 goals on the year and also had three-goal efforts against Knox College and Waldorf College.

"It felt good to get the hat trick, but even better to know we finished off a team early and that boosted our team's confidence," Garza said. "We came out hungry and we wanted that second chance. Our tie felt like a loss earlier in the season, because at the time, Grand View would have been in the driver's seat for the conference championship."

"Coach (Markham) sets out goals for us and we know we have to win," he added. "Losing is not an option for us."

The Saints took advantage of a shorthanded Mt. Mercy squad after Matt Rumery was ejected from the game following a red card midway through the first half.

Garza put the Saints on the board first in the 21st minute, capitalizing on creation by junior Vedran Ilic of Rockford, Ill., up in the corner. He struck again just nine minutes later, giving AU the two-goal edge after receiving a feed from his brother, freshman Geraldo.

Ashford then followed with a goal by sophomore Michael Handley of Webb City, Mo., following a well-placed corner kick by senior Soroush Kalhor of Rock Island, Ill.

The Saints didn't relent after the intermission, striking three minutes after the second-half whistle with Garza's third score. Sophomore Rafael Machado of Sao Paulo, Brazil, set him up, blasting a shot from the left side that caromed.

After a first-round quarterfinal victory over No. 8 St. Ambrose University to open the postseason, Ashford will prepare for Viterbo, over whom it recorded a 2-1 win in overtime on Sept. 26.

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