A Look at How UCSC’s Fall Sports Have Done So Far
Women’s Soccer
Record: 9-2-0 (6-1-0 in Division III)
The UCSC women’s soccer team reminded everyone on Oct. 4 that they are a force to be reckoned with with a 6-0 rout of Whittier at home. Led by new head coach Josh Schelhorse, the team needs only three more victories in their last six games to match last year’s win total and (hopefully) secure itself a spot in the postseason for the fourth year in a row. They will play an equal amount of games home and on the road for the rest of the season, with two upcoming home games against Menlo College this Thursday, and against D-III rival Chapman on Friday, Oct. 16. The team plays the last game on the schedule at Chapman on Nov. 1.
Men’s Soccer
Record: 9-0-1 (6-0-1 in Division III) (game on 10/6, record will change before issue prints)
The UC Santa Cruz men’s soccer team came into this season looking to improve on last year’s 8-7-2 record, and so far this year they’re well on their way to doing that. The team already has more wins than in 2008 and is currently undefeated and ranked fourth in the nation in Division III play. After shutting out D-III independent rival Chapman 1-0 on Oct. 2, the team faced another independent team, Fresno Pacific, on Oct. 6 and came away with an important 4-3 win. They will spend the second half of the season out on the road and finish up the schedule at Holy Names University on Nov. 4. With the way the team is playing, however, that game will likely not be their last of the year, as they have a good chance of making the playoffs if they can keep the current momentum going.
Women’s Volleyball
Record: 15-3 (9-3 in Division III)
With an impressive 15-3 record, the Lady Slugs volleyball team is on track to have one of the best seasons in the history of their program (see page 9 for story). After losing the first game of the year to Carthage University, the team went on a six-game winning streak that included four decisive 3-0 victories. The team will play two of their last home games of the year this weekend against Holy Names University and Dominican, then go on the road for eight games (four of which will be against Division III opponents) before finishing the regular season at home against Mills on Nov. 6. While the team hopes to make the playoffs this year, they are also setting their sights on making the NCAA Regionals for the first time in team history.
Women’s Cross-Country
So far this season the team has seen success on a collective and individual level. At their first event of the year, the USF 5K Invitational on Sept. 5, the UCSC women placed sixth out of 10 colleges with an average runner time of 20:07.50, and junior Mikayla Murphy finished second out of 100 participants with a time of 18:25.70. The team did even better overall the following weekend at the Irvine Invite, finishing fourth out of 11 teams. Most recently, the cross country team appeared in the West Region Preview Meet hosted by Pomona Pitzer and finished third overall out of 10 teams with junior Murphy winning the race. The team is currently ranked eight out of 20 teams in the Western region with three meets left in the season, including the Bronco Invite hosted by Santa Clara University on Saturday, Oct. 17 and the NCAA Division III West Regional meet on Saturday, Nov. 14.
