SANTA CRUZ, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz women's soccer team dropped a 1-0 loss to the Dominican University (Ca.) Penguins on Tuesday afternoon after a first half goal from the Penguins. UCSC was outshot 13-7 in the contest and 6-1 in shots on goal with Ainsley Gove making four saves with the team earning a team save in the second half. UC Santa Cruz will be back in action on Thursday when they host Menlo College at 4:00 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The two teams battled through rainy first half conditions on the Lower East Field with both sides fighting through the midfield to try to find their footing for possession. UC Santa Cruz took the first shot in the 10th minute with Tatiana Fernandez rolling a shot wide of the cage. The two teams continued to go back and forth but the contest remained a possession battle until the 32nd minute. After the Penguins rang a shot off the post at the 31:33 mark, they were able to gather the rebound on the other side of the box and fire it into the back of the net just a few seconds later to take the 1-0 lead.
 
The Banana Slugs tried to counter with Cadence Fisher nearly hitting a strike from 25 yards out, but her attempt just went over the crossbar, keeping UCSC behind 1-0. Dominican managed to pressure Ainsley Gove once more in the half with a late shot off a corner but Gove made the save keeping the score at 1-0 heading into the halftime break.  

After the halftime break, the Banana Slugs set out to find the equalizer, taking the first two shots of the half with Sydney Boyd putting her attempt on frame in the 54th minute. Boyd's shot was saved before the Penguins countered with a strike of their own, but Gove was there to make another save. UC Santa Cruz struggled down the stretch as the Penguins picked up the intensity, outshooting UCSC 4-2 in the final 10 minutes before eventually handing the Banana Slugs the 1-0 loss.