GCU continues strong play at home, draws with No. 22 Seattle U

Friday, October 27

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

6-9-1, 3-4-1

Seattle U

11-2-3, 5-0-3

OT 1

OT 2

Seattle U

Grand Canyon

GCU continues strong play at home, draws with No. 22 Seattle U

10/27/2017 10:20:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Jeremy Pollard re-sets GCU Division I single-game saves record

By: Josh Hauser

PHOENIX - Jeremy Pollard recorded 14 saves and limited No. 22 Seattle U to one goal as the Lopes and Redhawks ended in a 1-1 draw on Friday night at GCU Stadium. Pollard broke his own GCU Division I record for saves in a match, previously set at nine versus Evansville in the home opener on Sept. 7.

"Jeremy was outstanding. I rated him as the player of the match," head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "He handled balls well in the air. The goal that was scored on him was an outstanding goal. The guys in the back did a really good job today because there was so much pressure on them. We don't see teams like this very often. I thought everybody on the field-- it was one of their better performances on the season."

After a scoreless first 45, the Lopes struck first. Off of a corner kick in the 63rd minute, a Seattle U defender committed a hand ball directly in front of the goal. The resulting penalty kick was good by Niki Jackson, his eighth goal of the season, and the Lopes took a 1-0 lead.

A Seattle U handball in the box leads to Jackson's 8th goal of the season. #LopesRising pic.twitter.com/BYCp6GATk3
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) October 28, 2017

Grand Canyon's lead lasted nearly 20 minutes before Seattle U struck for the first time with less than eight minutes remaining. The Redhawks' Ozzie Ramos crossed the ball from the right wing to the top of the box where Nathan Aune pivoted and placed the ball in the top right corner of the net.

Overtime yielded no scores, and the Lopes had themselves their first draw of the season. GCU remains unbeaten on the home pitch in its last four matches.

"I would have been disappointed if we lost the game because I thought this was one of our best team performances," Hyndman said. "It needed to be one of our best team performances because that was probably the best team we've seen all year. They move off the ball really well, they create a lot of scoring chances, they don't make a lot of mistakes. Our guys played with a lot of determination to get something out of it. We'll take that point."

That point brings the Lopes' total to 10 in conference play, putting them in a tie for seventh place with San José State. Utah Valley, GCU's upcoming opponent, jumped over the Lopes in the standings by virtue of an upset win over UNLV. Air Force moves into sole possession of first place in the WAC after GCU's tie.

"It's a big match. [Utah Valley] did themselves a favor by beating UNLV. That puts a little more heat on it. We're glad to be at home."

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MST at GCU Stadium.