CLAREMONT, Ca. – In a midweek North vs. South showdown, the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs men's soccer team earned a hard fought 3-2 victory over the Stags of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Slugs struck first with two goals just 54 seconds apart before CMS answered with two of their own to tie the game heading into the halftime break. An 85th minute penalty kick goal from Soeren Groessl gave UCSC the win and a brace for Groessl as he netted the first goal of the contest while Zander Crawford recorded the team's second goal. UCSC outshot CMS 19-8 with 12 shots on goal to CMS' five with Tobias Jacobson-Bell making three saves. With the victory, UC Santa Cruz increases their win streak to four straight games, improving to 8-5-1 on the season. The Banana Slugs will travel to Jessup University on Oct. 29 at 2:00 p.m. for their next match.
 
How It Happened
The Banana Slugs were knocking on the door early in the first half, earning a corner 1:55 into the game before Jackson Chandler took the games first shot in the 10th minute. UC Santa Cruz kept CMS trapped in their own half before Zander Crawford made a strong run, passing the ball across the 18 to Soren Groessl who struck a right footed shot past the keeper and into the back of the net, putting UCSC up 1-0 just 16:14 into the contest. Just 54 seconds late, Crawford's generosity was rewarded as he picked up a loose ball that Jackson Chandler poked away from a CMS defender near the top of the box. Crawford drove into the right side of the 18 and put a well-paced shot into the back left post, doubling UCSC's lead to 2-0 just under a minute after dishing out the assist on the opening goal.
 
The Banana Slugs continued to pressure, taking three more shots before CMS took their first shot of the game. The Stags finally got one back as they peppered Tobias Jacobson-Bell with three straight shots. Jacobson-Bell was able to make the first two saves, but the third time was the charm as CMS connected on the last attempt in the 33rd minute to cut the lead to 2-1. CMS managed to find the equalizer in the 43rd minute, tying the contest at 2-2 before the halftime break.
 
In the second half, UC Santa Cruz had the early chances once again as they outshot the Stags 5-1 for the first 15 minutes of action after the halftime break. The Stags were able to push back, forcing a Jacobson-Bell save in the 63rd minute before later taking a shot that got blocked out of danger in the 67th minute. The Slugs responded with heavy offensive pressure, taking five shots with three on frame but CMS was solid on defense, keeping things tied at 2-2 as we approached the final moments of action.
 
UC Santa Cruz was relentless with their pressure as they sent a ball into the box and were fouled inside the 18 off the ball, earning the team a penalty kick in the 85th minute. Soren Groessl stepped up to take the kick and delivered the go ahead goal, recording a brace to put UCSC up 3-2. CMS only managed to take one more shot in the contest as UC Santa Cruz played well down the stretch to earn the 3-2 victory.