Newcomers Ainsley Smith, Emily De Los Santos, and Amanda Scott all scored as UC Santa Cruz overwhelmed Division II Holy Names 3-0 at the Lower East Field.
In the midst of their toughest stretch of the season, the Banana Slugs won for the first time in nine games to improve to 2-7-1.

After a scoreless first 42 minutes, UCSC finally got on the board with 2:01 left until halftime when Smith connected at the right post on Kayla Alexander's cross to put the hosts on the scoreboard.
The Banana Slugs stayed on the front foot throughout the final 45 minutes.They nearly doubled their lead less than a minute in when Karina Bulli sent a shot to the top left that was saved. Amanda Scott's blast was saved about 40 seconds later. In the 54th minute, Bulli again had a four-yard shot that barely missed wide left before the rebound was barely put wide.
UC Santa Cruz finally got their hard-earned second goal in the 79th minute when De Los Santos scored her first career goal on a 20-yard blast that went in the top center of the goal. Scott completed the scoring with 3:54 remaining when she got on the end of fellow freshman Abby McCollam's pass.

Overall, UC Santa Cruz had a season-best 32-6 shot advantage, 22-3 in the second half. Alyssa Diaz-Tucker finished with 3 saves while her Holy Names counterpart Abigail Burnell had 13.

The Banana Slugs continue their homestand with another Division II opponent when they play Dominican University Tuesday October 5th.