SANTA CRUZ (9-4) – The Banana Slugs men's soccer team played in front of home fans for the first time in the 2021 campaign as they took on Pomona-Pitzer. The Sagehens used an early second half goal to defeat the Banana Slugs 2-1.
In the first half, the scoring started early. The Sagehens would convert a penalty kick by Jared Mejia just under four minutes into the match to take a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later,
Luca Bravo scored his first career goal for the Banana Slugs to tie the match at 1-1. The last chance for the Banana Slugs to score came with 6:55 left in the half but
Kailas Dhond's shot was saved by Sagehens' goalie Ethan Bae.
In the second half, the aggressiveness and intensity for both teams stepped up. The half yielded seventeen combined fouls and three yellow cards. With 39:09 left in the match, Matt Carlson scored to give the Sagehens' a 2-1 advantage. The final shot of the match for the Banana Slugs came off the foot of
Rory Monninger with 1:56 left, but his shot was just over the cross bar.
Will Barba and
Davin Cox both had two shots for the Banana Slugs. Goalie
Arman Salimi finished with three saves.
The Banana Slugs (0-1-1) will hit the road for their next match as they will take on NCAA Division II Dominican University in San Rafael. Kickoff is set for 3 pm on September 7th.
