Alcocer Nets Game Winner in 79th Minute to Lift Slugs Past La Verne

Saturday, September 12

La Verne, CA

11:00 AM

UC Santa Cruz Athletics

2-2-0, 0-0-0

University of La Verne

0-3-1, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
UC Santa Cruz	0	1	1
La Verne	0	0	0

Alcocer Nets Game Winner in 79th Minute to Lift Slugs Past La Verne

9/12/2026 1:13:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

LA VERNE, Calif. – The UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs earned their second straight victory with a 1-0 win over the La Verne Leopards on Saturday afternoon. The Banana Slugs struck in the 79th minute with a goal from Sharon Alcocer with Caroline Alanis picking up an assist. ULV narrowly outshot UCSC 11-10 in the contest but the Slugs held the edge in shots on goal at 5-4. Ainsley Gove earned her second straight complete game shutout, making four saves in the contest. The Banana Slugs will be back in action on Sept. 19th at 11am when they travel to St. Louis to square off with the reigning NCAA National Champs, No. 1 WashU.

How It Happened
The Banana Slugs pressured early in the contest, earning a corner just 2:51 into the game with Amaya Espardinez putting a shot on goal but La Verne made the early save. Alex Freeman kept the pressure on with a shot in the 7th minute that went wide. La Verne was able to counter with a shot on goal, but Ainsley Gove was there to make the save as the two teams battled through early attacks. In the 15th minute, ULV forced another Gove save and had a shot blocked just moments later. From there, the Banana Slugs regrouped and forced play back out into a midfield battle. The Slugs had one of their best chances in the 28th minute when Susanaitzel Jaurez-Mancera broke free and had a one-on-one opportunity with the ULV keeper but her shot was saved and punched away, keeping things locked at 0-0. UCSC had another breakaway chance in the 34th minute with Kirsten Li making a run but her shot attempt was saved once again. The Banana Slugs didn't allow another shot from ULV in the half, sending the two teams into the halftime break tied 0-0.

Out of the halftime break, La Verne pressured early and earned a handful of free kicks but couldn't record a shot as the game switched to a possession battle in the midfield. London Mamaril took the second half's first shot but missed left in the 58th minute. The Leopards quickly countered with a shot of their own a minute later, but their attempt missed wide right. The Banana Slugs quickly got going the other way as Emilie Brack put a shot on goal, but her attempt was saved, keeping the game scoreless through 60 minutes of play. In the 66th minute, ULV ramped up the pressure, taking a shot that was blocked and another shot a minute later that forced Ainsley Gove to make another save. Despite the pressure, UCSC responded as Kathleen Byambasuren took a shot in transition but missed her attempt to the right in the 68th minute. The two teams continued to battle back and forth, fighting for possession to create a late opportunity. In the 79th minute, UC Santa Cruz found their moment as Caroline Alanis slotted the ball to Sharon Alcocer who delivered the game winner, striking the back of the cage to put UCSC up 1-0 late in the contest.

Just over a minute later, Alcocer nearly had a brace as she found herself unmarked making a run on the far side. She beat the keeper to her left but her shot attempt just squeaked past the right post and out of bounds. In the 81st minute, the Leopards responded with a dangerous opportunity, forcing Ainsley Gove to make a save before hitting a shot off the post on the follow up shot. The Banana Slugs were able to weather the storm and ramp up the pressure as time ran out, securing the 1-0 victory thanks to the game winner from Sharon Alcocer.