Lopes score two goals within 60 seconds, force tie at UNLV

Friday, October 14

Las Vegas, Nev.

7:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

4-9-1, 2-2-1

UNLV

4-6-3, 1-1-3

OT 3

OT 4

Grand Canyon

UNLV

Lopes score two goals within 60 seconds, force tie at UNLV

10/14/2016 10:10:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Josh Hauser

LAS VEGAS - Trailing 2-0 heading into the final 20 minutes of the match, the Grand Canyon men's soccer team quickly turned the tide with back-to-back Niki Jackson goals in a 60-second span to force a 2-2 tie. The remainder of the match, including two 10-minute extra sessions, went scoreless with GCU moving to 1-1-3 in conference play.

To get on the board for the first time, Alexandros Halis took a free kick from well outside the 18-yard box and delivered a beautiful ball to Jackson, who headed the ball from the left side of the goal and directed it to the right-hand side of the net, right past the Rebels' keeper. The well-executed free kick pulled the Lopes within a goal at the 68:43 mark of the match.

After a brief advancement from the UNLV offense, Alejandro Radilla poked away the ball and regained possession for the Lopes. Moving to the other side of the field, Wedner Delmonte issued another brilliant pass into the box to Jackson, whose one-on-one shot on the keeper went wide of the net. However, Jackson was tripped from behind by Rebels defender Adam Musovski, forcing a foul call in the box and a penalty kick opportunity for Grand Canyon.

Jackson buried the ball in the far left side of the goal, perfectly placed just past the outstretched arms of the keeper who dove the correct way. The Lopes knotted the score at the 69:34 mark of the match, scoring goals within 51 seconds of each other.

Kendyl Day was kept busy in the first 15 minutes of the match, logging three saves early on. UNLV built its 2-0 lead with goals in the 35th and 59th minutes of the match. The Rebels goals came in similar fashion to GCU's, with the first coming off of a header on a free kick and the second coming via penalty kick.

Jackson continues his highly successful season for Grand Canyon, scoring multiple goals in a single game for the third time this year. The Lopes forward ran his scoring total to 11 goals on the season, a mark that would rank second in the nation entering Friday.

After recording its third tie in WAC play, Grand Canyon heads off to the stormy Northwest for a matchup with Seattle U on Sunday evening. Kickoff for GCU's second-to-last road conference match is set for 6 p.m.