Home schedule wraps for Lopes

Friday, October 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Utah Valley

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10/25/2018 11:45:00 AM | Men's Soccer

GCU Match Notes 2018 Media Guide

GCU hosts top 2 teams in conference standings

By: Josh Hauser


Utah Valley Wolverines (9-6, 6-2 WAC)	#8 Air Force Falcons (14-2, 7-1 WAC)	at	Grand Canyon Lopes (6-8, 3-4 WAC)
Friday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. Live Video \| Live Stats	Sunday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. Live Video \| Live Stats
Match Notes			Match Notes Media Guide

The nine-game home schedule comes to a close for the Grand Canyon men's soccer team, and the top two teams in the WAC standings roll into GCU Stadium. The Lopes host Utah Valley (tied for second) on Friday and No. 8 Air Force (first place) in the home finale on Sunday.

With the hosting of No. 8 Air Force on Senior Day on Sunday, the Lopes will have a chance to improve on their 3-0 mark against top-25 teams this season. GCU previously defeated No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 20 Creighton and No. 25 Seattle U.

GCU will honor its five seniors in the regular-season finale on Sunday.

Jackson Jellah has been a member of the Lopes for the past two seasons after transferring from Portland. He assisted on three goals last season, and scored the game-winning goal at No. 25 Seattle U this year.
Alex Ramirez, a team captain, joined the program five years ago but missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons due to injury. He's assisted on big game-winning goals, including this year's season opener against No. 12 Wisconsin.
Sam Gardner joined the Lopes for his senior season after transferring from Jacksonville. He immediately proved to be an anchor in the Lopes' backline and is the only player to play in every minute of every game this season.
Shawn Spitzer is one of two players to have been a part of the GCU program since 2014. For five years, he has been a hard-working member of GCU's goalkeeping corps and few individuals have more pride in GCU.
Alex Radilla, a team captain, has appeared in over 65 matches in a GCU uniform, most on the team. He's assisted on seven goals. Alex scored the opening goal of the 2018 season, helping the Lopes take down No. 12 Wisconsin.

Both matches will be available on GCU.tv and the WAC Digital Network, with Friday's match also airing on Univision Radio (100.3 FM and 105.3 FM).

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SHARING THE WEALTH: The Lopes have had nine players find the scoring column this season. Sophomore Josh Drack and freshman Calvin Kissi represent the only individuals to have scored multiple goals this season. The mark of nine different goal scorers ties GCU's Division I program record, set in the first Division I season in 2013.
STANDINGS WATCH: If the season were to end today, GCU would qualify for the WAC Tournament for the second time in two eligible seasons. There's work to be done, however, as eighth-place Houston Baptist is just a half-game behind the Lopes. The top seven teams qualify for the Nov. 7-11 conference tournament in Seattle.
ATTENDANCE MARKS HOLDING: The season-opening crowd of 6,648 fans wasn't just a flash in the pan. While it is still the most-attended game of the season and third-largest crowd in the NCAA this year, GCU's attendance marks have held serve throughout the season. The Lopes rank No. 8 nationally and first in the WAC for average attendance at 2,462 per game.

SCOUTING

It's been a season of streaks for Utah Valley who is enjoying a bounce-back season following a rare miss of the WAC Tournament a year ago. After starting 3-0, the Wolverines proceeded to lose five consecutive matches by a combined score of 11-1. The Wolverines strengthened for WAC play to win six consecutive matches before a streak-snapping home loss to San José State on Oct. 20.

The trio of junior Blake Frischknecht (11 points), sophomore Zach Maas (10 points) and senior Austin Buxton (10 points) lead the charge offensively for the Wolverines. Frischknecht has scored five goals.

In the last meeting between the two programs, GCU recorded its first win over the Wolverines in four tries all-time. The Lopes surrendered a goal late in regulation to send the match to overtime but restored order with a game-winning goal from Damian German.

Air Force continues a three-year stretch of dominance where it has won at least 14 games each year. The Falcons have knocked off a pair of ranked teams in No. 13 Colgate on Sept. 9 and No. 22 San Francisco on Sept. 14. Air Force's only two losses on the season came in the opener at Virginia Tech and a surprising upset at the hands of CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 5.

Seniors Austin Dewing and Tucker Bone account for much of the Air Force offense, tallying 11 and 10 goals, respectively.

In last year's meeting at Air Force, GCU scored first on a Drack goal in the 11th minute — the quickest goal by an Air Force opponent to that point. Air Force, ranked No. 16 at the time, rallied to score three consecutive goals and win 3-1.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU held a 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute at Houston Baptist but the game ended as a "no contest" due to weather.
The Lopes fell to Kansas City 2-1 on Sunday after taking a 1-0 lead on an early Josh Drack goal.