Lopes defeat Houston Baptist 3-1

Friday, October 1

Houston, Texas

5 p.m. (Phoenix Time)

Grand Canyon

7-1-0, 2-0-0

Houston Baptist

2-7-0, 0-2-0

Grand Canyon

Houston Baptist

10/1/2021 6:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

No. 20 GCU wins 5th game in a row, moves to 7-1 overall

By: Sierra Smith

HOUSTON — The No. 20 Grand Canyon men's soccer team took down Houston Baptist 3-1 on the road Friday night, extending its winning streak to five games and improving its records to 2-0 in conference play and 7-1 overall.

Because of weather and poor field conditions, the match was played at the Emery/Weiner School instead of Sorrels Field.

The Lopes took a 1-0 lead at the 17:05 mark with junior striker Shaun-Chris Joash scoring his second goal of the season on an assist by fifth-year midfielder Justin Rasmussen, who now leads the WAC with five assists.

Houston Baptist scored just 2:19 into the second half to tie the game at 1-1.

After almost 30 minutes of scoreless soccer and in the 77th minute, GCU junior midfielder Alec LaBarge scored the first goal of his collegiate career, putting the Lopes ahead 2-1. The goal was assisted by freshman midfielder Kaden Cameron and fifth-year forward Rey Gaytan.

Less than two minutes later, GCU fifth-year midfielder Tosh Yasuda scored his first goal of the season, giving the Lopes some insurance going into the final 12 minutes of the WAC contest.

"I'm proud of our group tonight to be able to break down very strong defensive lines," GCU head coach Leonard Griffin said. "This game also allowed us to see the depth of our roster which will be important the deeper we get into conference."

Up next, the Lopes head straight to Chicago for a Sunday matchup against Chicago State for the first time in program history.