Lopes trio scores in overtime loss

Thursday, October 31

USAFA, Colo. / Cadet Stadium

5 p.m.

Grand Canyon

4-7-4, 1-5-3

Air Force

6-9-0, 5-4-0

Grand Canyon

Air Force

10/31/2019 7:39:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

2 GCU players record 1st career goals at Air Force

By: Cassidy Mace

USAFA, Colo. — The Grand Canyon men's soccer team scored three goals in a match for the third time this season but lost 4-3 in a double-overtime thriller Thursday night at Air Force.

Two Lopes scored their first goals in a GCU uniform but the Lopes fell in the team's sixth overtime match of the season.

Junior midfielder Justin Rasmussen led the offense for GCU (4-7-4, 1-5-3 WAC), scoring the first goal of the match and taking five shots with three on goal. Senior defender Julien Armaroli scored his first career goal in the second half, finishing the match with two shots that were both on goal. Fellow defender and sophomore Tyler Hughes secured his first collegiate goal on his only shot of the night in the 76th minute.

The Falcons (6-9, 5-4 WAC) took an early lead, making their first shot of the match to go up 1-0 in the ninth minute.

Rasmussen took the first shot of the night for GCU, putting the ball on goal in the bottom center of the net. Air Force made the save to keept its 1-0 lead. Lopes sophomore defender Esai Easley also put a shot on goal in the first half, sending the ball to the bottom center before it was saved in the 36th minute. Freshman Will Clark and sophomore Calvin Kissi took back-to-back GCU shots in the 44th minute without scoring to close out the first half.

Lopes sophomore goalkeeper George Tasouris made his first save in the 28th minute, grabbing the ball at the bottom left of the goal. He went on to make three saves in the match.

Rasmussen got the offense started early in the second half, scoring in the first 45 seconds to tie the match with the Falcons. The junior took another shot for the Lopes in the 48th minute, before the Falcons scored again to retake the lead 2-1.

Armaroli put the Lopes back in the match with a tying goal in the 68th minute on an assist from senior defender Austin Day. Hughes pushed the Lopes into a 3-2 lead at 75:40 on an assist by junior forwardRey Gaytan. Air Force bounced back with a goal in the 87th minute to tie the match and send it into overtime.

Air Force's Lathan Spadafola scored the winning goal in the match's 108th minutes to put the Falcons in a tie for second place in the WAC and drop the Lopes to 0-2-4 in overtime matches.