Lopes head west for weekend

Friday, October 5

San José, Calif.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

San José State

10/4/2018 11:09:00 AM | Men's Soccer

GCU Match Notes 2018 Media Guide

GCU to play at San José State, Seattle U

By: Josh Hauser


Grand Canyon Lopes (5-5, 2-1 WAC)	at	San José State Spartans (4-4-2, 1-1-1 WAC)	(25) Seattle U Redhawks (8-3, 2-1 WAC)
		Friday, Oct. 5 7 p.m. (Phoenix time)	Sunday, Oct. 7 6 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Match Notes Media Guide		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

The Grand Canyon men's soccer team is on the road looking to solidify its current position near the top of the conference standings. GCU takes on San José State on Friday night before flying north to take on No. 25 Seattle U on Sunday night.

Both matches will be available on the WAC Digital Network.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SHUTOUT SQUAD: With another shutout victory on Sept. 30, the Lopes tied their Division I program record for shutout victories with eight matches remaining in the regular season. GCU has posted shutout wins over now-No. 8 Creighton, Loyola Marymount, Incarnate Word and California Baptist. The win over Creighton remains the Bluejays' lone loss of the season (7-1-1).
REPEAT: The Lopes look to repeat or improve their success over San José State and Seattle U from a year ago. GCU defeated the Spartans in overtime before pulling off a draw with then-No. 22 Seattle U.
HYNDMAN'S 700TH: While head coach Schellas Hyndman closes in on 500 career collegiate wins (now at 492), he coached his 700th game when the Lopes beat California Baptist on Sept. 30.

SCOUTING

San José State has an impressive nonconference resume that includes a season-opening draw with reigning national champion Stanford and wins over now-top 25 UC Davis on Aug. 31 and then-top 25 San Francisco on Sept. 10. The Spartans have a win (CSU Bakersfield), loss (Kansas City) and draw (Houston Baptist) in WAC play.

Sophomores Omar Lemus and Willy Miranda have taken the majority of the Spartans' shots, scoring four and three goals, respectively.

GCU stole a game from San José State on the road last year. The Lopes took one shot on goal for the entirety of the match but it proved to be an overtime game-winner from Niki Jackson.

Seattle U brings a five-match win streak and a No. 25 national ranking into the weekend after a surprising loss to upstart California Baptist on Sept. 13. Since then, the Redhawks have defeated Loyola Marymount, San Diego, Washington, Kansas City and Houston Baptist. A Friday game against UNLV predates Sunday's match with the Lopes.

The Redhawks are home to the WAC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in senior Sergio Rivas and senior Nathan Aune. Rivas has taken a team-high 36 shots, but junior Cody Gibson and freshman Declan McGlynn lead Seattle U with five and four goals, respectively.

In the latest meeting between the two programs, the Lopes pulled off a 1-1 draw against the 22nd-ranked Redhawks in Phoenix. Jackson converted a penalty kick and goalkeeper Jeremy Pollard made 14 saves.

LAST TIME OUT

The Lopes split a two-match weekend at GCU Stadium.
GCU limited CSU Bakersfield to six shots but lost 2-0.
The Lopes bounced back with a 2-0 shutout over California Baptist at a rainy GCU Stadium on Sunday.