St. Paul, Minn. – The Macalester College men’s soccer team traveled to the west coast this weekend, after a dominant opening day performance on Thursday. Today the Scots took on the University of California – Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. After a back-and-forth battle, the Scots walked away with a point, in the 1-1 draw. Macalester is now 1-0-1 for the season.
Both teams battled for possession and offensive pursuits from the opening whistle. The Banana Slugs took a shot first in the seventh minute. However, the Scots responded with a few of their own a few minutes later. First year Ondieki Maina (El Cerrito, Calif./El Cerrito) created two opportunities for himself, but the Scots did not find the back of the net, and went into the break tied 0-0.
Right after the whistle blew for the second half, the Banana Slugs were able to take the lead, 1-0. However, the Scots were not deterred and continued to press. Finally, Macalester’s persistence was rewarded. Senior Milosz Fernandez-Kepka (Las Vegas, Nev./Indiana University HS) leveled the game at one in the 76thth minute, assisted by first year Parker Etzbach (Danbury, Conn./Wooster School). Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Price (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) made four saves in the second half to deny Santa Cruz and end the game 1-1.
Macalester’s next game will be against California Lutheran University on Sept. 5 at 12:00 pm in Santa Cruz, Calif.