Box Score CLAREMONT - It had been so long since UC Santa Cruz's men's team played some soccer, so why not play a little longer?
In the end, two overtimes was not enough to decide a winner as the Banana Slugs tied Claremont-Mudd 0-0 in both teams' season opener.
The Stags were the most recent SCIAC Champs in 2019 and were ranked 14th in the nation in the Division III preseason poll.
Both teams felt each other out in the first half devoid of good chances, with the hosts controlling most of the possession. The most thrilling moment in the opening half came when an exuberant dog ran around the filed for about a minute.

The action picked up in the second half. Banana Slug keeper Arman Salimi had a great stop off a CMS header from six yards away to keep the hosts goalless. The Banana Slugs best set of opportunities game in the 61st minute. After a short free kick at the endline, Liam Linas got off a looping shot at the edge of the box that was pushed over the bar by CMS goalkeeper Eduardo De Anda. Two minutes later, Linas got a shot from almost the same spot after a corner, but his blast sailed high.

The overtimes had plenty of back-and-forth action, but neither team got a shot on goal. The Banana Slugs had tge last chance in the final 30 seconds, but the long free kick went over the goal-line before any UCSC player got a touch on it.
Overall, the hosts had an 11-6 shot advantage. Salimi got three saves in his Banana Slug debut.
UC Santa Cruz returns north for their home opener Saturday September 4th against another SCIAC foe in Pomona-Pitzer.