Clarke University opened its 2011 Midwest Collegiate Conference slate Saturday with an impressive 2-1 victory over Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa.

Mark Dismang and Dino Ramic scored first-half goals for Coach Sean Esterhuzen's Crusaders, who evened their season mark at 3-3 with their first turf field victory in three years.

Dismang opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 11:49 mark. Dino Ramic's shot from 20 yards out hit the post and Dismang capitalized by nailing the rebound shot. The Crusaders made it 2-0 with two and a half minutes remaining in the opening period when Ramic scored off an assist from Ricky Chicas, who had stripped the ball from a defender.

Clarke dominated the contest for the first sixty minutes, and after Ashford (4-2) closed within 2-1, the Crusaders defense clamped down. Clarke goalkeeper Luke Van Meveren preserved the win when he tipped a shot out of the top left corner in the closing minutes.

"Mirek Baran, Daniel Valencia, Mayron Trejo and Jared Hill did a tremendous defensive job," said Esterhuizen. "And midfielders Lucas Tepman and Peter Bayliss had a dominating performance."

Ashford claimed the women's matchup, 2-1.