Coro: 'Bittersweet' way to qualify, send off seniors

Saturday, November 4

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

7-10-1 (4-5-1)

UNLV

10-9 (7-3)

UNLV

Grand Canyon

11/4/2017 9:34:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery WAC Tournament Central

Men's soccer to get 2nd crack at UNLV in 1st WAC Tournament game

By: <a href="http://gculopes.com/index.aspx?path=coro">Paul Coro</a>

Six Grand Canyon senior men's soccer players ended their GCU Stadium careers Friday night but their Lopes careers and GCU's season are not done.

The Lopes lost a game deciding WAC Tournament seeding to Nevada-Las Vegas but GCU will get another crack at second-seeded UNLV in Las Vegas at 8 p.m. Wednesday with more on the line.

The Lopes learned at halftime Friday night that they had clinched a WAC Tournament spot but still had a chance to secure a No. 4 seed if they won. Five minutes after GCU senior Niki Jackson cut UNLV's lead to 2-1 with his 40^th career goal, Lopes defender Brandon Johnson picked up his second yellow card to become a red card that left GCU playing 10-on-11 with nearly 26 minutes to play.

The Lopes lost 4-1 but quickly wipe the slate clean for the program's first WAC Tournament appearance.

"It's all how you look at the cup – half-full or half-empty," GCU head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "For us, it's getting an opportunity to represent GCU in the conference. We've never done that before so we're excited about that.

"When we were playing our best, we were controlling the game. If we can get a couple things better, I think it could be a better result."

Prior to the game, Hyndman ditched the tactical talk to turn the floor over to his six seniors – Jackson, Charlie Keating, Aidan McGlothan, Amer Sasivarevic, Khadim Seye and Jordan Slack. Each also was honored in a pregame ceremony in front of 1,821 fans, a turnout that will keep GCU in the nation's top 20 for average attendance.

"It's nice to graduate from college but you're going to miss all of this – the atmosphere, the fans, my family coming to all the games and my teammates," Sasivarevic said. "Bittersweet but hopefully we bounce back in the playoffs."

GCU trailed 1-0 at the half after WAC leading scorer Danny Musovski wound up alone to tuck in a goal inside the near post. The Rebels took a 2-0 lead in the 54^th minute but the Lopes found life two minutes later.

GCU sophomore Austin Day threaded a pass to Jackson, who quickly turned and fired into the right set of the net with the goalkeeper out to challenge him. The Lopes were all business with Sasivarevic running the ball to midfield and Jackson blowing a quick kiss to fans in lieu of celebration.

The 10-on-11 situation derailed the momentum and Musovski added his second goal for a 3-1 lead with less than 16 minutes remaining in the game.

"We know if we have 11-on-11, it is going to be an easier task," Slack said. "In the postseason, anything can happen. Last year, UNLV was the fourth seed and won the whole thing. We've just got to take motivation from that because anything can happen. It's an even playing field now."

The GCU-UNLV game will be at UNLV's Peter Johann Memorial Field at 8 p.m. Wednesday and shown on the WAC Digital Network. The winner will face Wednesday's CSU Bakersfield-Seattle winner in an 8 p.m. Friday semifinal, also shown on the WAC Digital Network.

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.