THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Two first-half goals scored by UC Santa Cruz were the difference in Cal Lutheran's season finale as the Kingsmen were defeated 3-1 Sunday night at William Rolland Stadium.
Box Score: UCSC 3, CLU 1 - F
Trailing 2-0 at the half after allowing the Banana Slugs to score in the 10th and 33rd minutes, CLU cut its deficit in half once midfielder Iggy Wagner recorded his second goal in as many games in the 73rd minute.
Held scoreless throughout the first 18 games of the season, Wagner ended his senior season by scoring CLU's only goal in back-to-back home games against Occidental and UC Santa Cruz.
Other seniors also competing in their final game for Cal Lutheran Sunday night were defender Josh Hibbert, midfielders Patrick McCoy, and Cody Yan.
Racing down the field on CLU forward Raul Yepez' one-on-one scoring opportunity, Wagner rushed towards the middle of the Banana Slugs' penalty area once he saw his teammate's shot bounce off the left post and roll across UCSC's goal.
Beating all Santa Cruz defenders to the loose ball, Wagner wasted no time in scoring Cal Lutheran's first goal of the game, a shot that became the final goal recorded by a Kingsmen this season once the game concluded.
Tying their respective season-highs with seven and four shots, Yepez and Wagner fueled a Cal Lutheran offense that ended Sunday's contest with 19 shots to its credit. Of those 19 opportunities, 16 were recorded in the second half.
Also finishing the game with 19 shots, Santa Cruz responded to Wagner's goal seven minutes later by recording its third goal of the evening, returning UCSC's lead to a 3-1 margin that would remain untouched throughout the final 10 minutes of the game.
In addition to earning Cal Lutheran's only assist against the Banana Slugs, Yepez nearly earned his sixth goal of the season on two occasions in the second half.
Caught off-guard on two of Yepez' shots, Santa Cruz goalkeeper Nate Levenson would have easily been beaten by the CLU forward had the ball not bounced off the crossbar, and left post, back into play.
Levinson finished with nine saves, while his Cal Lutheran counterpart Chris Holm ended his evening with six.
Finishing seventh in the SCIAC with a 3-11-0 conference mark, Cal Lutheran ends its season with an overall record of 3-17-0.
