SANTA CRUZ, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz women's soccer team earned a thrilling 3-2 victory over the University of Mary Washington in the C2C Women's Soccer Conference Semifinal match to advance to Sunday's Championship game against the No. 1 seed Christopher Newport in a rematch of last year's Championship. The Banana Slugs and Eagles fought through a fairly even match up while UC Santa Cruz held an 11-7 edge in shots with both teams putting six on frame. Susanaitzel Juarez-Mancera notched her first goal of the season before Emily De Los Santos and Sydney Boyd earned second half goals to lift the Slugs over the Eagles. Ainsley Gove played all 90 minutes in between the pipes, making three saves in the contest. As mentioned, the Slugs will be back in action on Sunday at 10am when they host the No. 2 Christopher Newport Captains in a rematch of last year's C2C Conference Championship.
 
How It Happened
The Banana Slugs attacked right from the start as Camille Anneet put a shot on goal early with Amanda Scott drilling one off the crossbar in the 8th minute, putting the pressure on UMW early. The Slugs continued to attack and control much of the possession battle in the first half. UC Santa Cruz finally broke through late in the half as Susanaitzel Juarez-Mancera found a bit of space nearly 30 yards out and sent a rocket just under the woodwork and over the keeper, striking the back of the net in the 43rd minute to send UCSC into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
 
UC Santa Cruz got right back to work out of the halftime break as Emily De Los Santos worked past her defender on the left side of the box and ripped a left footed shot into the right corner of the goal, giving the Slugs a 2-0 lead in the 54th minute.
 
From there, both teams traded possessions through the midfield before Mary Washington began to mount their comeback, pressuring the Slugs back line. Following a free kick, the Eagles managed to cut the deficit in the 72nd minute, setting up what seemed to be a wild fight to the finish.
 
Just moments later in the 76th minute, UC Santa Cruz responded with a rip from Sydney Boyd as the junior earned a free kick and capitalized on the opportunity from just over 18 yards out, sending one just under the crossbar to add some late game insurance. Mary Washington was relentless and continued to fight for another goal, connecting with just 57 seconds on the clock after a long free kick went untouched and found its way into the back of the net. Fortunately, UC Santa Cruz managed to fend off the remaining pressure over the game's last minute and earn a 3-2 victory over the University of Mary Washington.
 
As mentioned, with the victory, UC Santa Cruz advances to the C2C Women's Soccer Championship which will feature a rematch with the Captains of Christopher Newport. Last season, the Slugs and Captains fought through double overtime and ended 0-0, forcing a decisive penalty kick shootout. CNU managed to escape following a 4-2 decision as they earned the C2C Championship with the PK decision.