The Oaks made up for a lack of chances on goal with a cruel efficiency belying a relatively inexperienced team. It took all of 86 seconds for Menlo to pop the lid off its campaign with a goal, but the home side managed just one shot on goal between its early opener and Craig's late equalizer.

Menlo had yet to gain possession in the opening moments of the match when sophomore newcomer Hugo Conchas stole the ball along the Oaks attacking right sideline. Freshman midfielder Fermin Martinez took possession and drove a pass toward sophomore forward Ian Craig just inside the UC Santa Cruz half of the field before Craig placed a pass of his own over the heads of the Banana Slugs back line.

With the ball bouncing toward the UC Santa Cruz penalty area, junior forward Alex Vukic raced toward both, beating onrushing goalkeeper Nate Levinson to the ball and poking it into the net for a 1-0 Menlo lead in the second minute of the season.

The Banana Slugs slowly started creating legitimate chances of their own until they tied the score in the 21st minute when Matt Fondy rose to meet Clayton Sorenson's corner kick for a simple header that found the back of the net from right in front of the goal.

Bad luck bit Menlo just before halftime and gave UC Santa Cruz its first lead. Fondy drove a bouncing ball toward Oaks goalkeeper Danny Schwartz, who dropped to a knee for what appeared to be an easy save. The ball took an unexpected skip which caught Schwartz on the wrong foot and bounced softly into the net with only 15 seconds remaining until halftime, putting the Banana Slugs in front 2-1.

Menlo hardly threatened the goal in the second half until another quick burst counter attack stunned UC Santa Cruz again. This time Martinez pushed the ball down the center of the pitch before toeing a pass to an open Craig on the right side of the penalty area. Craig's first touch seemed to let him down, but the 6-foot-4-inch forward calmly took control of the ball and drilled a low shot across the goal and into the far side of the net from a difficult angle.

Schwartz more than made up for his first-half miscue, making stop after stop to save the draw. Nine Schwartz saves coupled with some iffy finishing by the Banana Slugs enabled the 2-2 scoreline to stand in spite of UC Santa Cruz' 26-8 advantage in shots. The visitors also fired off 11 shots on goal to Menlo's three.

Each team is 0-0-1 on the season. Menlo returns to action against Hope International at 4 p.m. on Saturday, again at Wunderlich Field.