Lopes face Saint Mary's, Santa Clara

Friday, September 6

Moraga, Calif. / Saint Mary's Stadium

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Saint Mary's

9/5/2019 8:35:00 AM | Men's Soccer

GCU starts trip against 8th-ranked Gaels

By: Cassidy Mace


Grand Canyon Lopes (1-0)	vs	No. 8 Saint Mary's Gaels (2-0)	Santa Clara Broncos (1-1)
		Friday, Sept. 6 4 p.m. (Phoenix time)	Sunday, Sept. 7 7:30 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Match Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

The Grand Canyon men's soccer team hits the road for the first time in the 2019 regular season. The Lopes are set to take on No. 8 Saint Mary's on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by Santa Clara on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. GCU is coming off a win in its home opener, taking down Northern Kentucky 3-0 on Friday at GCU Stadium.

The matches against Saint Mary's and Santa Clara will be broadcast live on the WCC Network.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

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 DI coaches with 500 career wins, only eight behind South Carolina's Mark Berson.
JUST GETTING STARTED: Two GCU student-athletes scored their first career goals in the Lopes' season opener against Northern Kentucky. Senior midfielder Tosh Yasuda scored within the first two minutes of the game. Sophomore forward Bert Wilton followed with another goal in the first half to put the Lopes up 2-0 heading into halftime.
TASOURIS TRIUMPHS: Sophomore goalkeeper George Tasouris was named WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year after a stellar freshman season in 2018. Tasouris started 2019 strong with a shutout against Northern Kentucky in the opener, the 10th shutout of his career.

SCOUTING

Saint Mary's opened its season with two shutouts against No. 25 UC Irvine and Omaha. The Gaels are ranked No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, moving up three spots from the preseason poll. Saint Mary's is on a 26-game unbeaten streak, the longest active streak in NCAA men's soccer. Senior Anders Engebretsen leads the team with two goals, one assist and five points heading into the third game of their season.

The Gaels play again on Monday at San Jose State.

Saint Mary's is coming off an 18-0-2 season and a first-place finish in the West Coast Conference. Head coach Adam Cooper is in his 14th season with the Gaels, currently boasting a 119-90-45 record.

Santa Clara is 1-1 heading into the weekend after a loss to Missouri State on Monday. The Broncos opened the season with a 3-0 win over Holy Cross at home, outshooting the Crusaders 17-2. Santa Clara dropped its second match of 2019 to Missouri State, falling 1-0 to the Bears with only three shots on goal in the match.

The Broncos are set to play one more time before taking on the Lopes on Sunday night. Santa Clara faces San José State on Friday night at home.

Santa Clara finished the 2018 season ranked seventh in the WCC and posted an overall record of 5-10-2. Head coach Cameron Rast is in his 18th season with the Broncos, holding a 166-123-47 mark.