TURLOCK — Utilizing a bye-week in the hectic California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule to play a non-conference opponent, head coach Dana Taylor was able to go deep into the bench as the Stanislaus State men's soccer team shutout UC Santa Cruz, 3-0, Wednesday late afternoon at Warrior Stadium.

After the win over the Banana Slugs, the Warriors improved to 11-2-1 overall and will have some time off of the game pitch before CCAA play resumes for them. Stanislaus State's next contest is on Friday, Oct. 23, at Sonoma State — giving the team nine days before competition again for the final stretch run going into the postseason.

On Wednesday against UC Santa Cruz (3-5-3), 22 Warriors got playing time while only five starters played more than 70 minutes.

Daniel Kuczynski, who has been recovering from an ankle injury, scored his first goal since Sept. 20. He had missed nearly four games after being hurt seven minutes into the UC San Diego match on Sept. 27. Kuczynski scored his 10th goal of the year in the 63rd minute from a chip-pass from Josue Barajas to make it 3-0.

Barajas and Kuczynski had just hooked up earlier in the match, in the 54th minute, with Kuczynski dishing to Barajas in the box for the score to make it 2-0.

Freshman Ryan Chaney continues his solid rookie season, putting the Warriors on the board first in the 29th minute after Stan State relentlessly shot at UCSC goalie Christian De Guzman in the first 25 minutes but came up empty. Chaney's goal was set-up nicely with a long throw by Josh Jacobs. Jacon's toss went in from in front of the mid-field scorer's table down the right sideline, where Chaney picked up the ball, dribbled and blasted into the net.

The Warriors had out-shot the Slugs, 13-2, in the first half before the 20-5 final count.

De Guzman had five saves for UC Santa Cruz, which managed two shots on goal — both picked up by Russ Klabough.

With four conference matches to go in the regular season, the Warriors will spend this weekend watching the scoreboards to see where they will stand in the standings by the end of Sunday. Currently, Stan State is in second place, one point behind Cal State Dominguez Hills, which plays at Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State Friday and Sunday.