GCU looks to bounce back on road


Grand Canyon Lopes (6-7, 3-3 WAC)	at	Houston Baptist Huskies (4-5-3, 2-3-1 WAC)	Kansas City Kangaroos (2-10, 1-5 WAC)
		Friday, Oct. 19 5 p.m. (Phoenix time)	Sunday, Oct. 21 1 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Match Notes Media Guide		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

Following a tough overtime loss at home Saturday, the Grand Canyon men's soccer team is on the road looking to bounce back and solidify WAC Tournament positioning. The Lopes will take on Houston Baptist on Friday evening before traveling to Kansas City for a Sunday afternoon meeting with the Roos.

Both matches will be available on the WAC Digital Network.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING THE WAC: The Lopes just passed the midway point of their conference schedule with six matches played and five remaining. GCU is alone in sixth place in the 12-team conference, looking to solidify a spot in the seven-team field. Transitioning California Baptist, currently in 10th place, is not eligible for postseason play.
SHUTOUT SQUAD: With another shutout victory on Oct. 7, the Lopes set their Division I program record for shutout victories with five regular-season matches remaining. GCU's five shutout wins came against now-No. 8 Creighton, Loyola Marymount, Incarnate Word, California Baptist and then-No. 25 Seattle U. The win over Creighton is one of just two Bluejays losses on the season (9-2-1).
FIVE SPOT: In a season where two goals in a game has been GCU's high-water mark, the Lopes are looking to bring back some of their offensive success from their last meeting with Houston Baptist. At GCU Stadium on Oct. 1, 2017, the Lopes scored five times to beat the Huskies 5-2 in the conference opener.

SCOUTING

Houston Baptist picked up a pair of nonconference wins over Saint Francis and SMU and have beaten Utah Valley and Incarnate Word in conference play. The Huskies tied with Oral Roberts, the lone common nonconference opponent with GCU. HBU has lost its last two matches against UT Rio Grande Valley and Air Force on the road.

Sophomore Gianluca Natera spearheads the Houston Baptist offense, taking a team-high 35 shots, scoring four goals and assisting on five others.

GCU posted its second five-goal performance of the season with an Oct. 1, 2017 victory over the Huskies in the last meeting between the programs. Josh Drack and Marco Afonso each logged points in the match.

Kansas City carries just two wins into Sunday's matchup with the Lopes. The Roos topped Oral Roberts in a double-overtime match and has a conference win against San José State. UMKC has a three-match losing streak heading into the weekend, where the Roos will host UNLV on Friday before the matchup with GCU.

The Roos have scored just seven times this season and, like the Lopes, only feature one player who has scored multiple goals. Junior defender Antoine Precheur has scored twice, while senior midfielder Pandelis Popgeorgiev has taken a team-high 17 shots.

In the latest meeting between the two programs, the Lopes fell 2-1 in a 2017 matchup that also took place in Kansas City. GCU nearly pulled off a late comeback from a 2-0 deficit with Drack assisting on a late goal. However, the Lopes' would-be equalizer was called back on a contested offsides call.

LAST TIME OUT

The Lopes dropped an overtime heartbreaker to UT Rio Grande Valley at GCU Stadium.
GCU found a second-half equalizer on Justin Rasmussen's first career goal, but lost in overtime on a golden goal.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes wrap up the home schedule when they host the WAC's top two teams in Utah Valley and Air Force.

For more GCU men's soccer news, notes and numbers, click here to view the match notes and click here to view the media guide.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

LAST TIME OUT

WHAT'S NEXT

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marco Afonso

Josh Drack

Justin Rasmussen

Grand Canyon University Athletics