SANTA CRUZ, Calif.— Dominican men's soccer returned to the pitch after a forced break from all soccer-related activities due to power outages, recording a 3-2 victory Wednesday afternoon over UC Santa Cruz.

Roberto Garcia led the Penguins (5-7-1, 3-3 PacWest) with a goal and an assist, while senior Brendan Adame and sophomore Eddie Silverbush each recorded goals of their own. Sophomore goalkeeper Ruben Raygoza started in net for Dominican and freshman Alejandro Reyes relieved him to begin the second half to earn the victory. 

The Banana Slugs (7-7-3) were led by Kailas Dhond and Ari Sidman who recorded the two goals for UCSC. Andrew Pimentel, Gerald Delorie, and Zachary Lamb split the 90 minutes of play for the Banana Slugs in the net, combining for nine saves on the day.

After trading early attempts, Liam Laird crossed a ball in to Dhond inside of the box and he pelted a shot inside the right corner of the goal to put the Banana slugs up 1-0 in the 24th minute. 

Dominican retaliated quickly as Garcia took a corner kick and found Adame inside the box for the equalizer in the 27th minute. Neither team was able to gain the advantage over the final 18 minutes of the half as they entered the break tied.

Dominican picked up the offensive pressure in the second half as Colin Gunby attacked the net in the 49th minute, but Delorie was there to make the diving block. Freshmen Maxwell Ward then took a corner kick and found Louie Galdamez inside the box for a shot, but the attempt missed high. 

In the 56th minute, senior Arturo Carrillo Contreras beat his defender toward the left goalpost and sent a shot toward the net, but Delorie collected the save to send the ball the other direction. As the Penguins pressured the Banana Slugs in their own defending third, Garcia slipped in-between a pass from two UCSC players and sent a laser from 10-yards out to the top right corner of the goal to give Dominican the 2-1 lead in the 57th minute. 

UCSC attacked Dominican in the box five minutes later and drew a penalty kick. Sidman took the kick and buried it in the net for the 2-2 tie. The game remained tightly contested in the midfield until the 76th minute, when the Penguins earned a free kick in UCSC territory. Galdamez took the kick and found Silverbush in the box for his fourth goal in four games to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead. 

The Penguins will look to continue their winning streak as they return home to Kennelly Field for a Saturday showcase against Holy Names University. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. PDT and live stats will be available online.