'Lopes Shut Out Dixie State

Monday, October 18

St. George, UT

3:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Dixie State

Tom Hurdle recorded his first assist of the season on Kyle Ciliento's initial goal of the game.

10/18/2010 10:36:07 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Joel Horn

The Grand Canyon University men's soccer team, ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 19 in the nation in the official NCAA Division II poll and No. 3 in the West Region and No. 19 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, defeated Pacific West Conference rival Dixie State University 3-0 today at Hansen Stadium in St. George, Utah.

The Antelopes improved to 10-2-1 overall, 8-1-0 in the PacWest, while the Red Storm fell to 5-7-1, 4-4-1.

Sophomore forward Kyle Ciliento (Phoenix, AZ/Pinnacle, Saint Mary's College of California) gave GCU a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute when he took a pass from senior defender/midfielder Tom Hurdle (North Yorkshire, England/King James, Barton Community College) from 40 yards out to the center of the field, went one-on-one and beat goalkeeper Tyler Walters to the center of the net. It was Ciliento's 15th goal of the season.

The 'Lopes were aggressive from the start, amassing five shots, two offsides calls and one corner kick before the Red Storm had even one in any of those categories. It was a rough game, with 13 fouls called and a yellow card issued to Dixie State forward John Jensen in the first 17:49.

The first half ended with GCU having a 6-3 advantage in shots (two of the Red Storm's shots were on goal). Seventeen fouls were called, 10 of which were on the 'Lopes.

In the 54th minute, junior midfielder Mitchell Garcia (Avondale, AZ/Agua Fria, Phoenix College) made the score 2-0 by scoring off of a free kick from 23 yards that went inside the right post. It was Garcia's third goal of the season.

Ciliento scored again in the 76th minute when he took a center pass from senior midfielder Joao Vieira (Amparo, Brazil/Barbosa, Marshalltown CC) and shot the ball from 10 yards out into the right side of the net.

Senior goalkeeper Ben Paneccasio (Sydney, Australia/Rosebank College, Tyler Junior College), the 2009 PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, made four saves and recorded his seventh shutout of the season. He had 12 shutouts last year.

GCU had a 16-7 edge in shots in the game, as well as a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks.

An astounding 32 fouls were called in the game, 17 of them on the 'Lopes. GCU was whistled for offsides three times, Dixie State once.

Three more yellow cards were issued in the second half, to Red Storm midfielder/defender Nyle Ortiz in the 57th minute, 'Lopes sophomore defender/midfielder Chris Green (Phoenix, AZ/Thunderbird) in the 64th minute and Dixie State defender Clayton Alexander in the 82nd minute.

"After the Seattle Pacific game [a 3-0 loss on Thursday], I wasn't happy with how we executed in the offensive third, so we spent time in practice addressing it," Head Coach Petar Draksin said. "We still have some ups and downs to our game, but for the most part we played very well tonight."

Two starters, junior defender Maximilian Aust (Pliezhausen, Germany/Wuerttemberg Gym) and senior midfielder Harvey Martinez (Miami, FL/Coral Gables, Marshalltown CC), sat out tonight's game with injuries.

Aust did not play in the Seattle Pacific game after a solid performance in the first game on this trip, a 2-0 win over Western Washington on Tuesday. Martinez played against both the Vikings and Falcons after missing two games prior to the trip.

Entering the game, GCU was tied with Notre Dame de Namur for first place in the conference with a 7-1-0 record. The Argonauts, who had a six-game winning streak, played to a 0-0, double-overtime tie with Hawai'i Hilo today in Hilo, so the 'Lopes now are in sole possession of first place.

NDNU faces Hawai'i Pacific on Thursday in Kaneohe and BYU-Hawaii on Saturday in Laie, while GCU has a rematch with Dixie State at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday at the GCU Soccer Field.

The 'Lopes have scored 34 goals and allowed 11 this season, 14 more and nine less than the Red Storm, respectively.

According to PacWest statistics through games of Oct. 17, Ciliento, the 2009 PacWest Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, leads the conference in shots (52), shots per game (4.33), points (31), points per game (2.58), goals (14) and goals per game (1.17). He also is tied for first in game-winning goals (5), tied for seventh in assists (3), and tied for ninth in assists per game (0.25).

Senior forward Pat Perkins (Bremerton, WA/Bremerton, Olympic College) is sixth in the league in shots (29) and shots per game (2.42), tied for eighth in points (12) and goals (5), 10th in points per game (1.00), and tied for 10th in goals per game (0.42).

Junior midfielder Cordero Young (Orlando, FL/Central Florida Christian Academy, Tyler Junior College) is tied for fourth in points (17)and points per game (1.42), fifth in goals (7), tied for fifth in goals per game (0.58), tied for seventh in assists (3), tied for ninth in assists per game (0.25), 10th in shots (24), and tied for 10th in shots per game (2.00).

Paneccasio ranks first in the conference in shutouts (6) and shutouts per game (0.50), second in the conference in goals-against average (0.90), eighth in save percentage (.667), and ninth in saves (22) and saves per game (1.83).

Box score