Late GCU rally falls short in Kansas City

Friday, October 20

Kansas City, Mo.

5:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

6-8, 3-3WAC

UMKC

5-6-3, 3-3WAC

Grand Canyon

UMKC

Photo by: Corey Solotorovsky

10/20/2017 7:06:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Lopes get 11 shots on goal in defeat

By: Josh Hauser

KANSAS CITY - After trailing 2-0, the Lopes turned the tide in the final 10 minutes and nearly pulled off the improbable comeback. But an offsides call in the final minute negated what would have been the game-tying goal in a 2-1 loss at UMKC on Friday night. Grand Canyon tallied 11 shots on goal but the Roos' keeper came away with 10 saves.

GCU (6-8, 3-3 WAC) finally got on the board with a goal in the 83rd minute. Off of a Josh Drack corner kick, Musa Morris Demos scored his fourth goal of the season. With over seven minutes to play, Grand Canyon was back within striking distance.

In the final minute of action, Morris Demos won a ball and had an open look at the goal from the top of the box, but UMKC's (5-6-3, 3-3 WAC) goalkeeper, Filippo Errico, deflected the ball on the save. The rebound landed right at the feet of Niki Jackson who found the back of the net, but was immediately whistled for being in offside position off of the rebound. Jackson's look represented Grand Canyon's last scoring chance of the night.

Grand Canyon got the better of the scoring opportunities in the match, outshooting the Kangaroos 15-9 and 11-5 on goal. GCU also had 10 corner kicks to UMKC's 2, but the Lopes were ruled offsides six times.

The Lopes got off to a slow start in the first half as GCU's first official shot didn't come until the 27th minute. By that point, UMKC already owned a 1-0 lead.

UMKC netted its first goal in the 20th minute off of a corner kick. A header found the underside of the crossbar, angling the ball just barely over the goal line.

The Roos second goal came in the 40th minute. On a rare goalie assist, a clearance by the UMKC keeper found its way to offensive leader Eric McWoods who caught the Lopes' defense out of position. McWoods chipped the ball over the defense and the ball slowly bounced into an open goal.

Grand Canyon's offense came to life in the final 10 minutes of the first half. GCU took three corner kicks in a 45-second span, and the ball bounced all around the box. The Lopes made Errico work hard over the 10-minute stretch, but GCU couldn't break through.

Despite only playing 27 minutes, Morris Demos managed to fire off five shots including four on frame. Damian German, Aidan McGlothan and Drack each had two shots on goal.

The Lopes are down to one last away game in the regular season, and it will come on Sunday afternoon at No. 16 Air Force. While the Falcons are undefeated in WAC play, they have tied two of their last three games. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. MST in Colorado.