Lopes return home for WAC tilts


Grand Canyon Lopes (4-3-2, 1-1-1 WAC)	vs	San Jose State Spartans (2-8, 2-1 WAC)	Seattle U Redhawks (6-3-2, 3-0 WAC)
		Friday, Oct. 11 7 p.m.	Sunday, Oct. 13 7 p.m.
Match Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

The Grand Canyon men's soccer team returns home to take on San Jose State and Seattle U this weekend. The Lopes face San Jose State at 7 p.m. on Friday for Faith and Family Night. They return to GCU Stadium to play Seattle U at 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Both matches will be broadcast live on the WA C Digital Network and GCUtv.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

EASLEY EARNS WAC AWARDS: Sophomore defender Esai Easley was named WAC Athlete of the Month for September. The award is Easley's second WAC recognition of 2019 after he was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16. The Kailua, Hawaii, native has started all nine matches for the Lopes this season and recorded full 90-minute outings in four of the Lopes' six September games, along with a 110-minute effort in a double-overtime tie at UC Riverside.
SHUTOUT SQUAD: GCU has recorded a shutout in all four wins this season. The Lopes have held five opponents scoreless, three at home and two on the road. The four shutout victories put the 2019 team on pace to match last season's nine shutouts, the most a GCU team has recorded since the 2010 squad shut out 10 teams. Sophomore goalkeeper George Tasouris has been in goal for each shutout, having recorded 31 saves this season. Tasouris was named WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and has the team tied for 27th nationally in save percentage at .795.
THE 500 CLUB: With the season-opening win in the Lopes' season opener over Northern Kentucky, head coach Schellas Hyndman became the fifth Division I coach in NCAA history to earn 500 collegiate career wins. Hyndman is one of only two active DI coaches with 500 career wins, only nine behind South Carolina's Mark Berson.

SCOUTING

San Jose State went 0-7 in its nonconference schedule to start the season. The Spartans bounced back to kick off conference play with wins over CSU Bakersfield and Kansas City. They took down the Roos 6-0 at home for their highest scoring match of the season on Oct. 4. San Jose State took on Houston Baptist in its last match, an overtime 3-2 loss at home.

Junior forward Rudy Castro leads the team with 10 points this season, having scored four goals and recorded two assists. Castro is one of three Spartans who have scored four goals this season. Defensively, junior Rodrigo Reyes-Zavalza and freshman David Sweeney have split time in the box, each starting five of the Spartans' 10 matches. Sweeney has started all three WAC matchups, contributing to his 32 saves this season with 11 allowed goals in five matches.

San Jose State leads the series against GCU 4-2-1.

Seattle U is tied for first in the WAC with a 3-0 conference record. The Redhawks are 6-3-2 overall, having recorded wins over San Francisco, Portland and Cal Poly in their nonconference schedule. They kicked off their WAC schedule with back-to-back shutout wins at home over California Baptist and Houston Baptist. Seattle U also took down Kansas City 4-1 in their last contest on Sunday at home. The Redhawks will play at UNLV on Friday in their first road conference match of 2019 before traveling to Phoenix to face the Lopes.

Sophomore forward Declan McGlynn leads the Redhawks with 15 points this season, having scored seven goals and recorded one assist. Junior forward Noe Meza also has been a threat on offense for Seattle U, scoring six goals. Goalkeeper Akili Kasim has started all 11 matches, recording 25 saves for a .714 save percentage.

The Redhawks lead GCU in the head-to-head series 8-5-1.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU went 0-1-1 on a two-match conference trip last weekend.
The Lopes tied California Baptist 0-0 before falling to CSU Bakersfield 2-1.

WHAT'S NEXT

GCU travels to UT Rio Grande Valley on Oct. 19 for its sixth WAC match of the season.

For more GCU men's soccer news, notes and numbers, click here to view the match notes.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

LAST TIME OUT

WHAT'S NEXT

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Esai Easley

George Tasouris

Grand Canyon University Athletics