Recent rematch opens tourney


(5) Utah Valley Wolverines (9-8, 6-4 WAC)	vs.	(4) Grand Canyon Lopes (9-8, 6-4 WAC)
~~Match Notes~~	Live Video Live Stats T ickets	Match Notes Media Guide

The Grand Canyon men's soccer team takes a three-game win streak into its second appearance in the WAC Tournament, this time as a No. 4 seed. The Lopes are set for a first-round matchup with No. 5 Utah Valley at Seattle U's Championship Field on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (Phoenix time).

The winner of this first-round matchup will advance to take on a waiting Air Force team, the conference's top squad who has a bye in the first round.

The game will be available on ESPN+.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

IT'S A STREAK: The Lopes' current three-game win streak over Utah Valley, Air Force and UNLV marks the program's longest win streak since 2015. To open the month of September, GCU recorded wins over Portland, Green Bay and Sacramento State. This year's win streak helped the Lopes clinch their first regular-season winning record at the Division I level.
TOURNEY HISTORY: It's a short one, as the Lopes are only in their second year eligible for Division I postseason action. Last season, the Lopes snuck into the tournament as the No. 7 seed and drew a tough first-round matchup with host and No. 2 seed UNLV. The Lopes kept it close but fell to the Rebels 2-1.
STINGY DEFENSE: GCU has allowed less than two goals in its last four matches. The Lopes, behind freshman goalkeeper George Tasouris and a staunch back line, have recorded six shutouts on the season, a Division I program record. As a team, the Lopes rank 35th nationally in team goals against average.

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 losing their final three games to end the regular season.

The trio of junior Blake Frischknecht (13 points), senior Austin Buxton (12 points) and sophomore Zach Maas (11 points) lead the charge offensively for the Wolverines. Frischknecht has scored six goals.

The last meeting between the two programs came less than two weeks ago when the Lopes netted an overtime game-winner to beat the Wolverines at GCU Stadium on Oct. 26. Sophomore Josh Drack opened the scoring, the Wolverines found the equalizer, and — on a Justin Rasmussen corner kick — senior Jackson Jellah scored the game-winner. It was the second consecutive season that GCU topped Utah Valley in overtime.

LAST TIME OUT

In the regular season finale, sophomore Marco Afonso put GCU up 1-0 before freshman Esai Easley scored his first goal in what would prove to be the game-winner in a 2-1 win at UNLV on Nov. 2.

WHAT'S NEXT

The winner of Wednesday's match advances to a Friday evening matchup against the tournament's No. 1 seed, 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.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

LAST TIME OUT

WHAT'S NEXT

Players Mentioned

Marco Afonso

Josh Drack

Esai Easley

Jackson Jellah

Justin Rasmussen

George Tasouris

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