Big Day for Braun Not Enough to Lift Banana Slugs Past the Warriors

Saturday, September 19

Santa Cruz, CA

12:00 PM

UC Santa Cruz Athletics

1-3-2, 0-0-0

Jessup University

2-3-1, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Jessup	1	1	2
UC Santa Cruz	0	1	1

Big Day for Braun Not Enough to Lift Banana Slugs Past the Warriors

9/19/2026 3:50:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

SANTA CRUZ, Calif – The UC Santa Cruz men's soccer team lost a hard-fought battle versus Jessup University in a 2-1 final score from the Lower East Field. Though the Banana Slugs totaled more minutes of possession in the matchup, Jessup University took advantage of defensive miscommunications from UCSC to take the win. Michael Braun led the Banana Slugs as he scored the tying goal to force a 1-1 game midway through and shot two off the crossbars in heartbreaking attempts for UCSC. Up next, UC Santa Cruz will travel to San Antonio, TX to face Trinity University and Texas Lutheran University. The Banana Slugs will take the field to face the tigers on Friday, Sept. 25th.

How It Happened
UC Santa Cruz came out firing, taking the first corner kicks and shots of the game less than four minutes into action. The Banana Slugs shot five attempts and gathered four corner kick opportunities less than 10 minutes in the match as UCSC hoped to set the tone of the match early. After broken plays by both teams, Jessup capitalized on their third shot of the game and sent the ball into the back of the net during the 19th minute. The goal took the wind out of UCSC's sails, who demonstrated control up until the Warriors broke through to put the first tally on the board. Tobias Jacobson-Bell recorded two saves in the first half, with his second coming immediately following Jessup's goal. Alessandro Castro took the final shot of the half for UC Santa Cruz forcing a save by Jessup's Eduardo Enriquez in goal.

UCSC started the second half with a better sense of urgency than they ended the first 45 and found the net less than eight minutes into the back half of the match. Overall, the Banana Slugs opened the second half with the same energy they began the first half with, as they demonstrated control with primary ball possession. Braun made the score for UCSC and continued to lead the Banana Slugs offensively for the remainder of his time on the pitch. Shots by Zachary Lev and Braun forced Jessup to make substitutions and rethink their approach to UCSC's second half of play. Luke Williams and Braun continued to press Jessup in goal, forcing a save and shooting one just off the crossbar. Less than a minute after UCSC's shot attempts, Jessup took advantage of the scramble opportunity to shoot the game-deciding goal past the Banana Slugs, making the score 2-1 in the 73rd minute. Aiden Dunn made his collegiate debut and earned his first save in the 75th minute of today's contest. As the closing minutes set in for UCSC, Braun ripped another close call off the woodwork in the Banana Slug's final shot of the afternoon to close out a battle at the Lower East Field.