WHITTIER- Goals from Kailas Dhond and Jake Rhodes gave UC Santa Cruz a 2-1 win at Whittier to close a three-game roadtrip.
UC Santa Cruz improved to 5-9-2 with their second-straight win.
The host Poets scored first on Lawrence Dydell's 20th minute goal. It took UC Santa Cruz 4:16 to answer. A great pass from Cole Simes put Dhond one-on-one with Whittier's goalie. Dhond chipped the ball over the onrushing goalie to equalize. UCSC goalkeeper Wolf Schermerhorn kept the game tied when he deftly pushed a dipping Whittier shot over the bar for a corner in the 30th minute.

Both teams pushed to break the tie in the second half, with the Banana Slugs eventually breaking the deadlock.
Rhodes got a running header on Luca Bravo's cross in the 61st minute for his first goal of the season. The Banana Slugs defended hard for the next 30 minutes. They withstood three corners in a row, highlighted by Will Barba's clearance off the line that turned out to be the last Poet shot. 
The physical game had the teams combine for 20 fouls, with two yellow cards give to each team. Both teams took 11 shots in the game. Schermerhorn finished with a season-high 4 saves.

UC Santa Cruz closes the regular season at home on Halloween when they face Sierra Nevada on Senior Day.