GCU heads to CBU, UVU


Grand Canyon Lopes (12-2, 7-1 WAC)	vs	California Baptist Lancers (10-2-3, 5-1-2 WAC)	Utah Valley Wolverines (2-10-1, 1-4-1 WAC)
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The Grand Canyon men's soccer team head to California Baptist for a Thursday matchup at 7 p.m. and then to Utah Valley for a 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) Saturday match.

Thursday's match against California Baptist will not be live streamed, but will be available on the WAC Digital Network on Friday in the "On Demand" section.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

LOPES IN THE POLLS: GCU made its way back into the United Soccer Coaches Poll at No. 25. The Lopes also rank No. 12 in the TopDrawerSoccer poll and No. 16 in the College Soccer News poll. In the NCAA RPI rankings, GCU sits at No. 15.
NATIONAL TOP 25 STATS: The Lopes rank No. 8 in the nation for win percentage (.857), No. 9 for save percentage (.821), No. 11 for goal differential (+22), No. 13 for total goals (34), No. 14 for total points (99), No. 14 for goals per game (2.43), No. 15 for points per game (7.07) and No. 23 for assists (31).
LEADING THE WAC: GCU sits at the top of the conference leaderboard with Air Force at 7-1 in WAC play. The Lopes lead the WAC in multiple stat categories, including points (99), goals (34), goals per game (2.43), assists (31), goals against average (0.85) and shutouts (five).

SCOUTING

California Baptist

The Lancers currently sit in fourth place in the WAC with a 5-1-2 conference record. They are coached by Coe Michaelson, who is in his sixth season at CBU. California Baptist has a three-game winning streak going, coming off of wins against Dixie State, Houston Baptist and Chicago State.

Bryan Iliohan leads the Lancers with 11 goals, which is also tied for the WAC lead with Air Force's Tristan Trager. Seven of Iliohan's goals have come just in WAC play. Four other Lancers also have multiple goals including Tete Vacas (six), Brian Gonzales (five), Luis Mueller (three) and Emiel Denoninck (two).

As a team, California Baptist ranks second behind the Lopes in the WAC by two points and is tied for the lead with GCU in total goals with 34.

Utah Valley

The Wolverines are in sixth place in the WAC with a 4-3 record. Kyle Beckerman is in his first season his first season as head coach for Utah Valley. The former Major League Soccer veteran, Real Salt Lake star and United States Men's National Team member was named head coach on April 12, 2021. Overall, the Wolverines have posted a 7-4-2 record and are coming off of a 2-0 loss to Houston Baptist.

Aaron Nixon leads the squad with six goals and also has two assists for a total of 14 points. Diego Castillo and Evans Armah follow Nixon with four goals apiece, and Jojea Kwizera and James Pena each have three goals. Castillo and Kwizera both have seven assists, which is tied for the WAC lead.

As a team, Utah Valley leads the conference in assists per game (2.23) and they rank second behind GCU in goals against average (1.04)

LAST TIME OUT

GCU vs. UNLV

GCU kicked off the final homestand of the regular season with a 2-1 win over UNLV on Friday night.
GCU (11-2-0, 6-1-0 WAC) fell down 1-0 early but scored two unanswered goals to regain the lead before halftime as the defense locked down UNLV (6-8-0, 2-5-0 WAC) in the second half.
UNLV jumped up 1-0 in the 12th minute, but GCU regrouped and answered back with a goal in the 28th minute by senior fifth-year forward Rey Gaytan. Gaytan regrouped after the ball took a deflection off a UNLV defender inside the 18-yard box and dribbled past the goalkeeper for an open-net goal to level the score at 1-1. It was Gaytan's third goal in the last four matches.
Tied at 1-1, GCU took the lead for good in the 36th minute on a goal by leading scorer Shaun-Chris Joash. Joash, a junior forward, took a long pass from defender Alejandro Fernandez Alcaide and raced down the right side. A fancy flick got him past two UNLV defenders and created space for a low, left-footed shot for his sixth goal of the season.
With the lead secured, the GCU defense went to work allowing just three UNLV shots all game, including only one shot in the second half in the 85th minute. The Lopes limited UNLV touches in the attacking third of the field as senior goalkeeper Anthony Munoz nearly recorded a shutout.

GCU vs. Dixie State

The Lopes remain tied for first place after registering their 12th consecutive home win with a 3-0 Senior Night victory against Dixie State.
GCU (12-2, 7-1 WAC) recorded its fifth shutout of the season on Sunday night to close out its home campaign at 8-0, its second consecutive undefeated season at GCU Stadium after going 4-0 in the delayed spring season. The Lopes remain tied atop the conference with Air Force, their regular-season finale opponent on Nov. 6
Fifth-year midfielder Justin Rasmussen posted a two-goal game on Senior Night and now leads the team with seven goals on the season.
The Las Vegas native gave GCU a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute, when sophomore forward Maximilian Moeller led freshman midfielder Kaden Cameron into the right side of the box. Cameron crossed it backward to the top of the box, where Rasmussen connected for a goal into the left side of the net and ran to celebrate with the Havocs.
They took a 2-0 edge in the 35th minute when senior midfielder Alexis Canales passed out of a trio of Dixie State defenders to junior forward Alex LaBarge, who crossed to junior forward Cameron Weller for Weller's fifth goal in the past five games. Weller redirected LaBarge's pass with his left foot to beat a diving goalkeeper inside the far post.
The Lopes took further control in the second half with Rasmussen's second goal. Rasmussen had been stopped on a penalty kick in the first half, but still notched his second goal of the night with greater difficulty.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Up next, the Lopes travel to USAFA, Colorado to face off against Air Force, who is currently tied for first place in the WAC with GCU.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

LAST TIME OUT

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kaden Cameron

Alexis Canales

Alejandro Fernandez Alcaide

Rey Gaytan

Shaun Joash

Maximilian Moeller

Anthony Muñoz

Justin Rasmussen

Cameron Weller

Grand Canyon University Athletics