Pablo Rodriguez knew his Iowa Central men's soccer team came into Saturday a well-conditioned unit.

And as the sun shined down on the pitch at Rogers Sports Complex, that proved true.

The Tritons received a hat trick from Kirubel Yerga and goals by three others in posting a 6-1 victory over St. Louis.

"I knew we would be able to apply a lot of pressure," Rodriguez said. "This was a very good start for the guys. We continued to push and really took advantage of the athleticism and skill that we have. We are in good shape and executed our game plan, and when you do that, good things happen.

"We know things are only going to get tougher once we get into conference because we play in the toughest region in the country, but this should give them some added confidence of what they are capable of doing."

Yerga added two assists to his day, as he scored twice in the second half when Iowa Central (1-0 overall) found the back of the net four times. 

Bakari Mtende had a goal and three assists, Lucas Hazi and Agustin Menendez each had a goal, with Ombeni Mubaka adding an assist. 

The Tritons led 2-0 and were well in control throughout. The lone St. Louis goal came in the final minutes on a penalty kick. 

"St. Louis is a top-notch program that is ranked quite often," Rodriguez said. "I didn't expect a 6-1 final, but I did have a lot of confidence that we would come out and play a good match.

"I feel like this sends out a good message that we are ready to compete."

Iowa Central returns to action on Saturday when they host Hawkeye at 3 p.m.

-By Dana Becker