Rasmussen scores in season finale

Saturday, November 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

4-9-4, 1-7-3

UNLV

6-12-1, 4-6-1

UNLV

Grand Canyon

11/9/2019 10:08:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Lopes fall to UNLV 2-1 at GCU Stadium

By: Cassidy Mace

Grand Canyon junior midfielder Justin Rasmussen scored in his third consecutive match on Saturday in the men's soccer season finale, as the Lopes (4-9-4, 1-7-3 WAC) honored seven seniors at GCU Stadium before a 2-1 loss to UNLV (6-12-1, 4-6-1).

"It's really been a strange season for us," Lopes head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "I really thought we started off on the right foot. And then we ran into a mass of injuries and a lot of changes of players and just a spell of bad luck, which I think you saw today. A goalkeeping error where he came out and tried to make a difference but ended up giving up a goal. And we were playing so well. I think our shot count was 9-2 in the first half and we were doing so many good things.

"Then, we fell behind and gave up a second goal and that kind of stuff, but I think some of our young players brought some life to the team and some excitement. Yes, they're freshmen, but it's also at the end of their freshman year as far as playing. So, I was really pleased to see both Alec LaBarge and Cameron Weller doing well."

The Lopes started the match strong on offense, taking three shots to UNLV's one in the first 25 minutes. Senior midfielder Pambos Aristotelous led the offensive effort for the start of the match, taking two shots and putting one on goal in the 21st and 25th minutes. GCU outshot the Rebels 9-2 in the first half, but a miscalculation from sophomore goalkeeper George Tasouris gave UNLV the first goal in the 42nd minute.

Lopes senior forward Jaime Delor took his third shot of the match in the 44th minute for a chance to tie, but the shot was out right. The Lopes went into halftime trailing by one.

Tasouris kept GCU in the game early in the second half, making a big save in the 55th minute with a dive to the bottom right corner of the net. However, the Rebels got another shot past the Nicosia, Cyprus, native in the 68th minute to go ahead 2-0.

Hyndman substituted Kentaro Matsuura at goalkeeper in the 73rd minute of the match, giving the senior his first minutes in a GCU uniform. Tasouris took the opportunity to honor Matsuura by wrapping his captain's band around the arm of his jersey.

"It goes by really fast," Hyndman said of his senior class. "I think the thing we have to remember is that this was one of those games where, yes, we would've liked to have won and finished the season on a positive note, but I also thought it was important that every one of our seniors got a chance to play. And I made a point of that and I told Kentaro that if the opportunity occurs, we'd like to get him on the field. I was thinking the other way with us winning 3-0, but he did well. It was nice because his dad was here, and he got a chance to see him play."

After a cluster of substitutions in the 73rd minute, Rasmussen recharged the offense with a shot on goal, saved in the bottom center of the net. His next shot in the 81st minute had a better result, putting the Lopes on the board and within a goal.

"It was definitely exciting," Rasmussen said. "It came a little late in the game, so it didn't give us much time to come back, but it's cool being from Las Vegas getting to play against this team. I know pretty much everyone on the team and scoring a goal means a lot."

Despite a shot by senior defender Austin Day in the 89th minute, the Lopes were unable to extend the game.

"Ending the season, it's obviously not what we wanted," Rasmussen said. "But we've got a great core of us coming back for next year. We're not losing too many seniors and a lot of our younger guys started to step up later in the season. I definitely wish we were going to the (WAC) Tournament, but with the way I'm playing, I'm excited to come back in the fall and keep the goal streak running and I'm excited to see all of these guys step up as we start to prepare for next year."

"What we do is finish this year off," Hyndman said. "This is a year that we're going to be very quick to put behind us and then we'll come back second semester and really start working on some things we think will make us a better team and then we need to go out and shake the trees a bit and see if we can find some recruits that can help us immediately."