UCSC women’s soccer pulls massive upset, qualifies for NCAA D-III Tournament

Santa Cruz Sentinel

UCSC women's soccer is back in the NCAA Division III Tournament after upsetting Cal Lutheran 1-0 in Sunday's SCIAC Championship game in Thousand Oaks.

The Banana Slugs (14-3-3) earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins with a first-round game next weekend. UCSC will learn its NCAA Tournament opponent and destination during Monday's selection show, which begins at 4 p.m.

The Banana Slugs last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2019, when they won the program's first NCAA Tournament game in program history before losing in the second round.

UCSC's victory on Sunday was the program's first SCIAC Tournament title since 2015 and their sixth overall SCIAC Tournament title.

Sophomore forward Kelly Walsh scored the game's only goal in the 68th minute off a great assist from senior forward Sam Vedder to give UCSC the lead.

The Banana Slugs' defense held strong the rest of the way to preserve the lead. Senior goalkeeper Logan Carter made three saves to earn her 11th shutout of the season.

UCSC finished the season with a 9-1-2 record in SCIAC play to finish tied for second place in the SCIAC standings, one point behind Cal Lutheran.

The Banana Slugs received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 after finishing third in the SCIAC standings.

UCSC is one of three SCIAC programs to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Redlands, which won the SCIAC regular-season title, earned the conference's other automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Whittier received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament features 64 teams. The first round will be played on Nov. 12-13, the second round will be played on Nov. 19-20, the third round will be played on Nov. 26-27 and the semifinals and championship game will be played on Dec. 2-3 in Greensboro, North Carolina.