Lopes score 9, shut out Benedictine

Grand Canyon men's soccer got off to a strong start on both sides of the ball in its first contest in over a year. The Lopes scored nine goals and did not allow a shot in a 9-0 exhibition win against Benedictine on Wednesday, giving GCU early momentum heading into two more home exhibitions on Thursday and Saturday.

Three GCU forwards scored two goals apiece: freshman Maximilian Moeller scoring twice in the first half, junior Calvin Kissi scoring twice in a row to start the second half and senior Marco Afonso scoring two goals with an assist as he returned to action after sitting out 2019 injured.

GCU defenders went above and beyond a shutout, holding the Redhawks without a shot in the match. Junior defender Esai Easley led the effort after being named to the Preseason All-WAC Team earlier Wednesday. Easley and senior Ariel Aguas are returning defenders who were named All-WAC honorable mentions in 2019.

"It's actually a great thing for the whole team, not just the defenders," Easley said. "The whole team as a unit did a very good job defending and I think it shows how committed everyone is off the ball."

Lopes senior midfielder Tosh Yasuda started the scoring in the 13th minute on an assist by freshman midfielder Georg Bjarnason, who also assisted the next goal by Moeller.

"For nearly every one of us, tonight was the first game in a year," Moeller said. "For my first time playing in this stadium, it was insane. I hope next week for our season opener we have the best result and have a great season."

Afonso followed up with his first goal in the 33rd minute, getting the assist from senior forward Rey Gaytan. Moeller and Afonso recorded one more unassisted goal each to put the Lopes up 5-0 at the end of the first half.

"Obviously, I've been injured, then COVID hits, but the boys have been sticking through this pretty well," Afonso said. "They've been strong boys and it's been a great collective effort. I'm just proud to be back on this journey and I'm really happy for the boys and for us all to keep moving forward."

Kissi got the Lopes started in the second half, scoring back-to-back goals in the 49th and 68th minutes with assists from graduate defender William Culhane and sophomore forward Cameron Weller. Freshman midfielder Edgar Soto tacked on another goal in the 78th minute, getting the assist from Afonso.

To finish the match, senior midfielder Justin Rasmussen put the Lopes ahead 9-0 with 10 seconds left, giving Weller his second assist of the night.

The Lopes return to action on Thursday, playing their second exhibition against Northwest Nazarene. The match begins at 7 p.m. at GCU Stadium.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Marco Afonso

Ariel Aguas

Georg Bjarnason

William Culhane

Esai Easley

Rey Gaytan

Calvin Kissi

Maximilian Moeller

Justin Rasmussen

Edgar Soto

Cameron Weller

Tosh Yasuda

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