No. 20 GCU Blanks Western Washington

Tuesday, September 15

W 4-0

3 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Western Washington

9/15/2009 7:01:04 PM | Men's Soccer

M Soccer

9-15-09

No. 20 GCU Blanks Western Washington

The Grand Canyon University (GCU) men's soccer team lived up to its new Top 20 ranking, shutting out Western Washington University, 4-0, this afternoon at the GCU Soccer Field.

The NSCAA Division II National Rankings were released this morning. GCU moved up three spots from its No. 23 national ranking last week and remained at No. 3 in the West region after defeating Mesa State College, 2-1, on Sept. 11. Western Washington currently is No. 10 in the West region.

"Our young men are responding and buying into the program, and good things are happening," GCU head coach Petar Draksin said.

Freshman forward Kyle Ciliento (Phoenix, AZ/Pinnacle) once again provided the offensive spark for the Antelopes, scoring his sixth goal of the young season at 1:04 on a beautiful ball by junior forward Harvey Martinez(pictured; Miami, FL/Coral Gables). Martinez also had two assists in the game against Mesa State.

GCU's second goal came at 18:39, when sophomore defender/forward Nick Sykes (Boise, ID/Mountain View) headed in a corner kick by junior midfielder/forward Juan Mendez (Bolivia/Horizon). It was the first goal of the season for Sykes, a preseason All-Pacific West Conference selection.

At 34:05, junior defender Tom Hurdle (North Yorkshire, England/King James) scored on a one-timer from the right side. Ciliento, the Conference's leading scorer, recorded his first assist of the season on the play.

And at 46:59, junior defender/midfielder Joshua Ademosu (London, England/Cardinal Pole) knocked in a loose ball in front of the net. Junior midfielder/forward Pat Perkins (Bremerton, WA/Bremerton) was credited with the assist.

Junior goalkeeper Ben Paneccasio (Sydney, Australia/Roseban K College) had one save and raised his record to 3-1 on the season. Junior backup goalkeeper Kyle Pearsall (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe) played the final 14:34, combining with Paneccasio on GCU's second shutout of the season.

The 'Lopes (3-1-1) outshot the Vikings 7-3 in the first half, but both teams totaled 11 shots in the game. GCU also had a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks in the first half, but Western Washington (3-4-0) held the same advantage in the second period.

It was the final non-conference game of the season for the 'Lopes, who host Dixie State College (2-1) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the GCU Soccer Field.

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