ABILENE, Tx. – The UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs fought to a 2-2 draw with the No. 18 Hardin Simmons Cowgirls on Tuesday morning to wrap up their Texas road trip. The Slugs played three games in Texas to start their 2024 campaign, ending the trip 1-0-2 with a 3-0 victory over ETBU while fighting to a 1-1 tie with UT Dallas and a 2-2 draw with HSU. The Cowgirls were the first to strike today but Chelyn Ackerman scored just 29 seconds after for the equalizer. Amelia Fung netted her first career goal late in the second half to put the Banana Slugs on top, but HSU countered with a goal of their own in the 86th minute before the final buzzer sounded, ending the contest in a 2-2 draw. The Banana Slugs were outshot 14-7 in the contest with HSU putting eight shots on goal to the Slugs two. Mia Linville recorded six saves in the contest, playing the full 90 minutes between the pipes. UC Santa Cruz will head back home for their next contest as they get set to host Pacific University on Friday at 2:00 p.m. and University of Chicago on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
 
How It Happened
The Cowgirls pressured the Slugs back line early on a rainy Texas morning, taking the first shot just over four minutes into the contest before the two teams settled into a possession battle. Hardin Simmons continued to pressure UCSC, taking two more shots before connected off a corner in the 22nd minute to take a 1-0 lead.
 
UC Santa Cruz immediately got on the counterattack with Camille Anneet finding Chelyn Ackerman who struck the back of the net just 29 seconds after the HSU goal, tying things at 1-1. The remainder of the first half remained scoreless despite HSU putting three more shots on goal.
 
In the second half, HSU managed to take the first shot after the break, but the Slugs began to ramp up the pressure as they narrowly outshot the Cowgirls 4-3 before Amelia Fung put the next shot in the back of the net to give UCSC a 2-1 lead in the 79th minute. HSU quickly looked for the equalizer with a two shots just under three minutes after the UCSC goal, but Mia Linville was there to make the save with the other attempt being sent wide. In the 86th minute, the Cowgirls found the equalizer off the header, tying the contest at 2-2. The Slugs had a late counter opportunity with Camille Anneet taking the final shot of the game with UCSC also taking a later corner, but the contest ended in a 2-2 draw to close out the UCSC Texas road trip.