Lopes open WAC play at home


Grand Canyon Lopes (3-2-1)	vs.	Incarnate Word Cardinals (3-3)
Match Notes R ecords	Live Video Live Stats	~~Match Notes~~ ~~Records~~

Grand Canyon men's soccer returns home to open WAC play after two matches on the road. The Lopes take on Incarnate Word on Saturday in the team's first conference matchup of the season. The competition serves as both Alumni Night and Student/Family Value Night with certain concession items being offered for $1 each. The Lopes and Cardinals kick off at 7 p.m. at GCU Stadium.

The match will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

YASUDA STRIKES EARLY: Senior midfielder Tosh Yasuda has scored two of the Lopes' six goals this season, both coming within the first three minutes of a match. Yasuda's first career goal came in the season opener versus Northern Kentucky at 1:53 for GCU's first goal of the season. He scored again at UC Riverside at 2:18 for the Lopes' only goal of the match.
SHUTOUT SQUAD: GCU has recorded a shutout in all three of its victories this season. The Lopes opened the season with a 3-0 win over Northern Kentucky at home. They also recorded a 1-0 road shutout at Santa Clara before returning home to blank Oregon State 1-0. Sophomore goalkeeper George Tasouris has been in goal for all three shutouts, having recorded 20 saves this season. Tasouris was named WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and has the team tied for 38th nationally in save percentage at .793.
THE 500 CLUB: With the 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 D-I coaches with at least 500 career wins and ony trails South Carolina's Mark Berson by nine.

SCOUTING

Incarnate Word kicked off this season with back-to-back road wins at Maryland-Baltimore County and Liberty. The Cardinals were handed their first loss at Central Arkansas before returning home to defeat Our Lady of the Lake 1-0. Incarnate Word is coming off two losses in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they fell to Tulsa 4-0 and Oral Roberts 1-0.

GCU leads the series against Incarnate Word 5-2. In the last matchup between the two teams, the Lopes took down the Cardinals 1-0 in San Antonio on Sept. 23, 2018.

Interim head coach Chris Fidler is in his second season of leading the Cardinals program. Last season, Incarnate Word went 2-14-1 and did not reach postseason play.

Senior forward Miguel Velasquez leads Incarnate Word with five points in 2019, having scored two goals and made one assist. Sophomore goalkeeper Carlos Mercado has started five of six matches for the Cardinals, recording 21 saves and compiling a 0.84 goals against average to lead the WAC.

LAST TIME OUT

The Lopes recorded their first tie of 2019 at UC Riverside on Sunday, scoring in the third minute of the 1-1 match.

WHAT'S NEXT

GCU hits the road to take on California Baptist and CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 4 and 6, respectively.

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

George Tasouris

Tosh Yasuda

Grand Canyon University Athletics