Late rally swipes WAC tourney title from GCU

Sunday, November 14

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

15-3-1, 9-2-0

Seattle U

13-7-1, 8-3-0

Seattle U

Grand Canyon

11/14/2021 7:03:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Seattle U captures WAC tournament on penalty kicks after 2-2 tie

By: Paul Coro

The Grand Canyon men's soccer team was less than four minutes away from one dream Sunday when it slipped away, but another one should be realized regardless on Monday.

Seattle U swiped the WAC Tournament championship trophy from GCU when the Redhawks scored two goals within 78 seconds and fended off the Lopes in two overtimes for a 2-2 tie in the title match at GCU Stadium.

The WAC Tournament championship and an NCAA tournament automatic berth went to Seattle U via penalty kicks (4-3), but the Lopes' 15-3-1 record and top-20 standing in the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index figures to still punch the program's third Big Dance ticket in the past four seasons.

The NCAA tournament's 48-team field, including 24 at-large bids, will be revealed on a selection show that NCAA.com will stream live at 11 a.m. (Phoenix time).

"It's the game of soccer," said GCU head coach Leonard Griffin, who felt this sting previously as a UCLA assistant coach when the Bruins lost a national championship game on penalty kicks to Viriginia in 2014. "It's never over until the 90th minute and today was a prime example of that. We've got to be better at closing out games.

"We've got to quickly bounce ball and turn around. I'm confident our name will be called. We've done a really job to get to this point, so we still get to reward ourselves and play in the postseason and we still get to call ourselves champions for winning the WAC regular-season title."

GCU entered the week ranked No. 17 in RPI and defeated San Jose State 4-1 in Friday's semifinal before Sunday's final counted officially as a tie with Seattle U, which was No. 43 in RPI.

The wait until the reveal will be tense, but nothing more difficult than the massive swing of emotions at GCU Stadium on Sunday.

The Lopes dominated the action with a 23-11 advantage in shots, including no Seattle overtime shots and a 9-4 GCU edge in shots on goal.

The scoreboard reflected that for most of the game to the delight of a WAC Tournament record crowd of 1,192 fans. The Lopes controlled possession while remaining aggressive on the attack in the first half, but the opportunities did not break a scoreless tie for the first Will Logan

36 minutes.

That is when Lopes senior defender Alejandro Fernandez Alcaide dribbled down the middle of the field before veering to the right side of the box, where three Seattle defenders converged for a steal. But Fernandez did not relent, coming from behind to poke away the ball to where midfielder teammate Hugo Logan could gather it in open space and launch his first goal of the season to the far side for a 1-0 GCU lead.

"I just remember just putting my head down and hitting the ball as hard as I could," said Logan, a senior from England. "The crowd was amazing today and that moment's definitely going to stay with me for the rest of my life. It's a nice way to send off my GCU career at home.
Will Logan

"I really wanted to go out on a high. We did this last year as a regular-season champ and couldn't get the WAC Tournament, so this is a bit of a punch in the ribs. We've got to move on now."

The Lopes asserted themselves how they wanted early, but were clinging to a 1-0 lead well into the second half. They remained aggressive with flurries of chances at times, but also had to dodge better Seattle U chances to the point that senior goalkeeper Anthony Munoz punched away a ball before a midair collision and blocked a shot in the 84th minute.

GCU looked like it might have scored the insurance goal that it needed in the 86th minute. Fifth-year forward Marco Afonso played give-and-go with sophomore Maximilian Moeller, who slipped an assist behind two defenders for Afonso.

Afonso's shot caromed upward off the sliding goalkeeper and junior forward Shaun-Chris Joash booted it at the goal line to ensure a 2-0 GCU lead with 4:18 remaining in regulation.

Joash, senior defender Esai Easley and fifth-year forward Rey Gaytan represented GCU on the All-WAC Tournament team.

"Grand Canyon's terrific," Seattle U head coach Pete Fewing said. "That was a really good game. I almost went over to Leonard and said, 'Man, this is great college soccer. Great crowd.' "

The storybook finish could not hold up. One minute after GCU took the 2-0 lead, Seattle U cut the margin back to a goal by scoring off a corner kick with a set piece that set up senior defender Sam Tessler's short blast with 3:12 remaining.

With 1:50 to go, a GCU foul gave Seattle U a straightaway, 25-yard free kick, which Redhawks fifth-year forward Noe Meza tailed to the right side for a 2-2 tie.

"We are going to take away from this that we need to be switched on for 90 minutes, not 86 minutes of the game," Logan said. "We need to see that game out. We can't relax."

Lopes senior defender Rodolfo Prado said, "I think we were the better team. I think all the guys knew that. That's how football is sometimes. In the last minutes, it just kills you. They had set pieces and took their chances and finished it."

GCU gathered its composure and remained dominant in the overtimes, keeping Seattle from taking a shot in either extra 10-minute period. In the first overtime, the Lopes were active with two corner kicks, a free kick and fifth-year midfielder Justin Rasmussen's quality cross that set up a Fernandez header that went side.

In the second overtime, an Easley steal thwarted Seattle's best chance. GCU had fewer chances until the final minute, when Rasmussen lobbed a long free kick into the box but Seattle U goalkeeper Akili Kasim jumped for the catch.

That sent the match to penalty kicks, where Rasmussen, Easley and Moeller scored on three of GCU's first four chances, but the Redhawks scored each time for a 4-3 lead. When Kasim stopped Joash's final try, the Redhawks stormed onto GCU Stadium field to celebrate as the Lopes sat and stood stunned.

"Coach mentioned 'short amnesia,' " Prado said. "We learn from this and move on. We'll learn who we face and focus on the next opponent. We'll try to get over this as soon as possible."