Lopes advance on Gardner goal

Wednesday, November 7

Seattle, Wash.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

10-8-0

Utah Valley

9-9-0

OT 3

Utah Valley

Grand Canyon

11/7/2018 5:19:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

Defensive duo of Easley, Gardner connect for golden goal

By: Josh Hauser

SEATTLE — At 6 feet 4 inches, Grand Canyon senior defender Sam Gardner was bound to find a way to score on a set piece this season.

After a few close calls, Gardner found the back of the net with an overtime game-winner that helped the GCU men's soccer team defeat Utah Valley 1-0 in the WAC Tournament first round on Wednesday. With their fourth consecutive win, the Lopes (10-8) advanced to Friday's WAC semifinals to meet No. 1 seed Air Force (15-3).

"It's overtime so there's a lot of pressure," Gardner said. "Games come down to set pieces. I was lucky to be in the right spot at the right time. My teammates are physical — just taking advantage of that."

In the 97th minute, the Lopes earned a free kick when sophomore Marco Afonso — who was GCU's most active player on offense — was dragged down by a defender wide to the left of the goal.

Lopes senior Alex Radilla took the kick, nearly emulating the angle and distance of a corner kick. Radilla's kick found the head of freshman Esai Easley near the far post. Easley headed it down and found the foot of Gardner, his fellow defender, for the tap-in.

"We're making history at GCU," said Gardner, whose goal gave the Lopes their first conference tournament win in Division I history. "This is our second year in the postseason now that we're eligible for it. We're making history and we want to keep going with the history."

For Gardner, a senior transfer, it was his fourth career goal after scoring three times at Jacksonville. It was his first collegiate overtime goal.

.@samgardna called game. #LopesUp (Photo/WAC) pic.twitter.com/JHcQZty7kW
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) November 7, 2018

The Lopes defeated Utah Valley in overtime for the third consecutive time, each with increased importance. A win last season helped GCU sneak into the tournament as the No. 7 seed. A win at GCU Stadium less than two weeks ago helped GCU clinch a top-four seed in this week's tournament. Wednesday's win earned GCU a trip to the semifinals, putting them within two wins of a NCAA tournament bid.

An evenly played first half gave way to a second half in which the Wolverines owned most of the scoring chances. Utah Valley outshot GCU 8-3 in the second half, but the Lopes defense and redshirt freshman goalkeeper George Tasouris held strong.

GCU took the only two shots in overtime, not including a touch by junior Tosh Yasuda that flew inches over the crossbar less than two minutes before the game-winner.

Tasouris was busy on the evening, making nine saves.

Wednesday's match saw 40 fouls whistled, following up the regular-season encounter that had 43 combined fouls.

The Lopes advance to take on a 13th-ranked Air Force team that has been dormant since GCU beat the Falcons 1-0 on Oct. 28 at GCU Stadium. Air Force was ranked eighth in the nation at the time. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) at Championship Field in Seattle.