Men's Soccer Plays to Draw at UC Davis

Sunday, September 21

Davis, CA

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-3-1

UC Davis

2-0-5

OT 3

OT 4

Grand Canyon

UC Davis

Niki Jackson

Photo by: Darryl Webb

9/21/2014 4:04:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Earn co-champion honors at Copa de Causeway

Playing in their third consecutive overtime contest, the Grand Canyon University men's soccer team (2-3-1) played to a 1-1 draw with UC Davis (2-0-5) today at Aggie Soccer Field in Davis, Calif. With the tie, the Antelopes claimed a share of the Copa de Causeway championship title as they collected a total of four points in the four team, two-site weekend tournament.

Teams received three points for a win and one point for a tie to determine the champion. UC Davis tied Air Force, 1-1, on Friday while GCU defeated Sacramento State 1-0 in overtime. Air Force then defeated Sacramento State 1-0 today to finish with four points. The Aggies collected two points in the tournament.

Kendyl Day, Niki Jackson, Ricardo Tavarez, and Kyle Summerhill were each named to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts over the weekend.

"We gave up goal in the last three minutes, but otherwise it was a very good road trip," said head coach Petar Draksin. "We came here on a mission, and almost had it done with a 2-0 record on the weekend, but unfortunately we dropped the level of play towards the end of the second half which allowed UC Davis to score."

"We came back and had chances in overtime, so I'm proud of the young men," added Draksin. "We are learning and getting better. We played a UC Davis program that has had success, and to come on their field and be so close to getting the win, is something to be proud of. This was a very successful weekend for us and the character of the team was fantastic."

UC Davis outshot GCU 19-5 as their defense limited the Lopes to two shots over the final 65 minutes. Alberto Sanchez Garcia led the squad with three shots, while Amer Sasivarevic and Jackson each added one.

The Lopes got on the board first on a Jackson shot that went into the lower left of the net in the game's ninth minute. He was assisted by Sanchez Garcia and Yared Solscheid.

"That was a crucial goal from Niki," said Draksin. "We tried to get that second goal to put them away, but just couldn't find it. The boys battled. I think they grew up this weekend."

The Aggies held the advantage in shots over the first 45 minutes (7-3), although GCU was efficient in putting two of theirs on target. Lopes keeper Day stopped both of the shots that came his way in the first half.

UCD's defense held the Lopes without a shot in the second half as they scored the equalizer in the 88^th minute when Lucas Mohageg found the back of the net in traffic. The Aggies collected nine shots in the second 45 minutes, getting their 15^th total attempt into goal to force overtime.

Neither team scored in the first 10-minute overtime period, meaning that the Lopes were heading to their third double-overtime contest of the 2014 season. The two teams combined for five shots in 20 minutes of overtime play. The game also marked the sixth overtime contest for the Aggies.

"We still have a long season ahead of us and are taking it one game at a time," Draksin said. "We learn from every game, and we are growing as a program and individually one game at a time. We are playing five Big West teams and we are 1-1-1 so far. That conference is very-well respected in men's soccer."

GCU will next be in action when they travel to Los Angeles, Calif., to take on Loyola Marymount on Friday, Sept. 26. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. and fans can follow the action via live video and stats by visiting www.gculopes.com.

GCU 1, UCD 1 2OT

2014 Copa de Causeway Final Standings
Place                   Points
T-1. Air Force                4
T-1. Grand Canyon      4
3. UC Davis                  2
4. Sacramento State   0

All-Tournament Team
AF - GK Jake Schenk
AF - F Zach Hill
AF - MF Luke Welch
AF - D Ben Kern
GCU - F Niki Jackson
GCU - MF Kyle Summerhill
GCU - D Ricardo Tavarez
GCU - GK Kendyl Day
UCD - D Lucas Mohageg
UCD - D Ian Palmer
SAC - F Chimdum Mez
SAC - D Javier Muñoz