GCU visits Oral Roberts

Monday, September 17

Tulsa, Okla.

5 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Oral Roberts

9/15/2018 11:40:00 AM | Men's Soccer

GCU Match Notes 2018 Media Guide

Lopes set to play final nonconference road match

By: Josh Hauser


Grand Canyon Lopes (3-2, 0-0 WAC)	at	Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (4-2-1, 0-0-0 Summit)
Match Notes Media Guide	Live Stats Live Video	~~Match Notes~~ ~~Media Guide~~

The Grand Canyon men's soccer team is bound for Tulsa, Okla., where the Lopes will play the third of three nonconference road games. GCU will face Oral Roberts on Monday at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time).

GCU improved its home record to 3-0 and will look to carry its success to the road in search of the first away victory.

A rare Monday match — the only such match of the season — will be available for live streaming on ORUAthletics.com.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

KISSI'S HOT START: Just five matches into his collegiate career, freshman forward Calvin Kissi is responsible for two game-winning goals. He helped the Lopes defeat Wisconsin in the season opener and scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Loyola Marymount on Thursday. Kissi becomes the fastest freshman to two goals in the program's Division I era, beating out current MLS player Niki Jackson by one game. Video »
STINGY DEFENSE: Early returns from an offseason overhaul of the GCU defense have been promising. The Lopes have allowed just three goals in five matches, a team goals against average that ranks 21st nationally. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper George Tasouris has a .920 save percentage, and the team's .900 save percentage ranks eighth nationally. It's the fewest number of goals GCU has allowed through five matches since 2011.
REVERSE THE TREND: GCU is looking for its first road goal and first road win of the 2018 season. The Lopes suffered two tough-luck, 1-0 losses to Evansville and Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

SCOUTING

Oral Roberts is riding high after a 5-1 win over Gonzaga on Friday night, when leading offensive threat Dante Brigida recorded a hat trick. The Golden Eagles improved to 4-2-1 on the season.

More than half of the Golden Eagles' schedule has consisted of WAC competition. It's been a mixed bag of results for Oral Roberts, which fell to conference preseason No. 9 pick Kansas City on Aug. 31 and tied with preseason No. 11 pick Houston Baptist on Sept. 7. The Golden Eagles, however, defeated preseason No. 2 pick UNLV on Sept. 2 and shut out Incarnate Word 3-0 on Sept. 9.

In the lone previous meeting between the two programs, GCU posted a 1-0 overtime victory over Oral Roberts at GCU Stadium in 2017. Senior Charlie Keating scored the game-winner on a header less than two minutes into the first overtime period.

LAST TIME OUT

Calvin Kissi scored a 63rd-minute goal, as the Lopes topped Loyola Marymount 1-0 on Thursday.
The GCU back line and redshirt freshman goalkeeper George Tasouris posted the third shutout of the young season.
The Lopes improved to 3-0 at home.

WHAT'S NEXT

GCU puts a wrap on the nonconference portion of the schedule by hosting Akron on Thursday at GCU Stadium.
The Lopes' 11-game WAC slate starts in San Antonio against Incarnate Word on Sunday, Sept. 23.

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.