No. 17 GCU closes regular season at Air Force

Saturday, November 6

USAFA, Colo.

12 p.m. (Phoenix time)

Grand Canyon

Air Force

11/5/2021 2:39:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Lopes travel to USAFA, Colorado for final match before tournament

By: Sierra Smith

Saturday, Nov. 6 | 12 p.m. (Phoenix time) | USAFA, Colorado


No. 17 Grand Canyon Lopes (14-2, 9-1 WAC)	at	Air Force Falcons (8-7-1, 7-3 WAC)
	Live Video Live Stats

The No. 17 Grand Canyon men's soccer team heads to USAFA, Colorado for its final match of the regular season and a 2021 Spring WAC Tournament championship game rematch against Air Force.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

BACK-TO-BACK: The Lopes clinched its second consecutive WAC regular season title last weekend after defeating California Baptist and Utah Valley on the road.
MOVING UP IN THE POLLS: The Lopes checked in at No. 17 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll, No. 12 in the TopDrawer Soccer Poll, No. 14 in the College Soccer News Poll and No. 11 in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index.
TOP-25 STATS: GCU ranks third in save percentage (.843), seventh nationally in winning percentage (.875), 10th in goal differential (+24), 13th in total goals (37), 15th in goals per game (2.31), 15th in total points (108), 18th in points per game (6.75), 21st in goals against average (.808) and 22nd in total assists (34).

SCOUTING

The Falcons are tied for third place in the WAC standings with Seattle U, who both have a 7-3 conference record.
Air Force is led by Tristan Trager, who has 11 goals and seven assists for a total of a WAC-leading 29 points on the season and has been named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week twice.
Head coach Doug Hill enters his 15th season as head coach and 28th season overall at Air Force.
The last matchup between the Lopes and Falcons was in the WAC Tournament championship game during the 2021 spring season when the Lopes fell 3-0.
GCU has a 4-6-1 record against Air Force all-time.

LAST WEEK

GCU vs. California Baptist

The Lopes team took down a tough California Baptist team 2-1 on the road Thursday night and moved into sole possession of first place in the WAC. Junior midfielder Cameron Weller gave the Lopes a 1-0 advantage at the 14:02 mark. His sixth goal in the past six games was assisted by junior striker Shaun-Chris Joash. California Baptist tied the game in the 36th minute, as WAC leading scorer Bryan Iliohan put the ball by GCU goalkeeper Anthony Munoz for his 12th goal of the season. GCU's fifth-year midfielder Justin Rasmussen was able to net his eighth goal of the season, giving the Lopes a 2-1 lead in the 57th minute. Fifth-year midfielder Tosh Yasuda earned his first assist of the season on the goal by Rasmussen, who has the highest season goal total since Niki Jackson scored 11 in 2017.

GCU vs. Utah Valley

The Lopes clinched the WAC regular-season title Saturday for the second consecutive season with a 1-0 win at Utah Valley. GCU's Munoz had the best performance of his career in goal with eight saves, securing his third shutout of the season. His performance earned him his first career WAC Defensive Player of the Week honor. Joash scored the lone goal in the 61st minute to put him at second on the team with seven goals. The goal was assisted by Yasuda.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Lopes head back home to host the WAC Tournament at GCU Stadium from Nov. 10-14. GCU is the No. 1 seed and will play on Friday, Nov. 12 at 4:30 p.m.