Despite giving up an early goal, No. 1 Central Methodist men's soccer used three second half goals to come back and defeat Graceland University, 4-1 Saturday night in Lamoni, Iowa.

With the win, Central keeps its record at a perfect 12-0 and a flawless 9-0 mark in Heart action. The Yellowjackets fall to 7-5-2 and 3-5-1 in the conference. 

The Eagles found themselves in an early deficit after a Graceland goal slipped past the CMU defense, finding the back of the net in the 19th minute of play. Central didn't remain behind for long, as just six minutes later junior Christian Sanchez scored unassisted to even the match at 1-1. Both sides remained deadlocked at the halftime break. 

CMU went out in front in the 51st minute, as senior Billy Nzojyibwami scored after a deflection by the Graceland goalkeeper. Junior Alessandro Salvadego then gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead less than 10 minutes later on a cross from senior Marcos German. 

Salvadego sealed the win with an unassisted goal in the 72nd minute, giving Central the 4-1 victory. Salvadego finished the evening with a team leading four shots, three on goal, including two goals scored. Sanchez, Nzojyibwami, German, and  sophomore Theo Klein all tallied three shots, while Sanchez and Nzojyibwami each recorded a goal. 

Overall, the Central offense collected 23 total shots and 16 on goal, compared to just five shots and one on goal for the Yellowjackets. Freshman  Aaron Hoffman played all 90 minutes between the posts, recording one save in the victory. 

The Eagles next host No. 7 Missouri Valley College in a rematch of last year's Heart Tournament Championship and the NAIA National Semifinals tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Davis Field.