Hyndman home finale gives 1st-ever 6-0 start

Friday, March 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

6-0-0, 6-0-0

Dixie State

2-5-0, 2-5-0

Dixie St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Garrett Ohrenberg

3/26/2021 11:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Moeller records 1st Lopes hat trick since 2017 in 5-1 victory against Dixie State

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon men's soccer head coach Schellas Hyndman's stomach was turning all day Friday, but he could not think of what he had eaten that would bother him so much and for so long.

"Then I figured it out: I'm nervous," Hydnman said.

Forgive the United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame inductee for not remembering what that was like. After all, Hyndman said the nerves he was feeling for his final GCU Stadium game had not surfaced since he was coaching FC Dallas in the 2010 MLS Cup. And the finality of this event made him more nervous.

Hyndman's work for GCU is far from done, as his 20th-ranked Lopes proved Friday night. GCU is off to its first 6-0 start in program history after beating Dixie State 5-1 with freshman forward Maximilian Moeller's hat trick, the program's first since Schellas Hyndman

Damian German in 2017.

But in Hydnman's sixth and final season of leading a young Division I program to new heights, Friday marked the final time that the retiring Lopes head coach walked through the GCU Stadium tunnel to the grass for a game.

"I got nervous for this game because it was important to me," Hyndman said. "All that stuff really was important and affected me, but nothing affected me more than to get the big picture that they got for me with Jamie (interim Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs). I didn't expect anything, quite honestly. This was Senior Day. When that came out, I'm a 10th-degree black belt and hard as nails and I had tears coming out of my eyes."

Hydman picked up collegiate win No. 509, giving him the 15th-most victories in NCAA history. He is the second-winningest active coach and might appropriately be going out with his best team. The 2018 Lopes broke through for the program's first Division I national ranking, a WAC Tournament championship and NCAA tournament appearance, but this one has the second-most wins in the nation this season without a loss or tie (Missouri State is 7-0).

"I think the boys are playing a little bit special because it is my last year," said Hyndman, who had several relatives and seven high school classmates attend Friday night. "It has taken us a while to get to this level where we have competent players at every position and substitutes. They're able to play attractive soccer."

GCU's 2018 postseason run relied on defense and goaltender George Tasouris, who is still integral but this team offers offensive firepower to balance with its back line. The Lopes' five-goal output on Friday night was the program's best since Oct. 1, 2017.

Tasouris actually set up the scoring first, launching a 70-yard pass down the middle of the field to sophomore defender Pedro Mondragon. The Yavapai College transfer slipped behind Dixie State's defense with the pass perfectly leading him to a one-on-one chance. Mondragon's first GCU goal beat the goalkeeper left for a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.

Less than three minutes later, Moeller had a chance at his first goal but missed left on a beautiful entry pass from senior midfielder Justin Rasmussen.

The Lopes still took a 2-0 lead in the 28th minute when junior defender Esai Easley made an upfield steal and passed to sophomore midfielder Hugo Logan, who sent the ball ahead on the right side to senior midfielder Tosh Yasuda. On his first goal of the season, Yasuda popped the ball over a defender's slide and made another defender turn as he cut toward the middle for a shot into the upper-left corner of the net.

Dixie State used a penalty kick to make it a 2-1 game at halftime, but the Lopes emerged more composed for the Moeller second-half hat trick.

Maximilian Moeller

GCU senior forward Marco Afonso controlled a free ball and dribbled through the Dixie State defense before passing to Yasuda, who sent the ball to junior defender Alejandro Fernandez Alcaide on the far right. That set up him to cross the ball to Moeller, who shielded one defender while beating the goalkeeper to the airborne with a header that he put on net for a 3-1 lead in the 63rd minute.

"That's what we brought him in for," Hyndman said of Moeller's hat trick. "He missed an easy one in the first half and I didn't say a word to him because he was probably beating himself up. He came out in the second half with a vengeance. We were getting him the ball in front of the goal, where he's very dangerous."

Moeller, who came from Germany, is so dangerous there that he scored again there 2 1/2 minutes later. Junior midfield Marios Andreou sent the ball to goal's doorstep for sophomore midfielder Will Logan and it caromed to the top middle of the box, where Moeller hammered to the top left corner for a 4-1 lead.

The ball found Moeller again the box when another Fernandez Alcaide cross went to Yasuda, whose chest bump set up Moeller behind him for his fifth goal of the season.

"It's such an honor to play with the guys on the field," Moeller said. "All the hard work that we put in every day and all the team spirit that the guys play with, it's amazing. We're a big family.

"This feels unreal. It was the perfect night for the whole team. We're 6-0. It's an amazing start and I hope we can do something special this season."