Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus Utah Tech on October 23, 2025 , Tie , 2, to, 2
M Soccer
vs Utah Tech
T 2-2
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Coro: Rasmussen turns into soccer shark
4/14/2021 6:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro
Lopes forward credits Hyndman for rise to All-WAC 1st team
Justin Rasmussen grew into the best teenage player in Las Vegas but still trained hard before his first Grand Canyon training in 2017.
The next level still shocked him. It scared him, but Rasmussen had come too far to turn back.
"Back home, I was a big fish in a small pond," the GCU senior forward said of that freshman who carried 40 fewer pounds. "Here, I was a small fish in the ocean, swimming with sharks."
Now Rasmussen is the shark, constantly moving about the tank and feasting on goal opportunities to be the leading scorer on an undefeated Lopes team that opens the WAC Tournament with a Thursday semifinal in his hometown.
GCU, ranked 16th nationally in the coaches' poll and fourth by RPI, is coming as full circle to that 2018Â NCAA tournament team as Rasmussen is in his four-year journey from the skinny freshman who logged 23 minutes.
Rasmussen has been open to playing every position and carrying out every directive from GCU head coach Schellas Hyndman, the retiring Hall of Famer with the second-most victories (510) of any active Division I coach.
"I got here and thought, 'I've got to work even harder,' " Rasmussen said. "I was barely scratching the surface. The level was really hard, but I was able to grow into it."
This season, Rasmussen earned All-WAC first team, one of a conference-record five Lopes to do so, for averaging the third most points per game (1.71) in the WAC and 23rd most nationally.
He strikes the ball with confidence that was earned through hard work. He created a powerful shot with improved accuracy, but he couples those weapons with the vision of movements and angles on the field because he has been a sponge to Hyndman dripping knowledge.
"It was a player who wanted it as much as I want to give it to him," Hyndman said. "When you're working with a player, you have the information. Are they willing to absorb it and work at it? It's one thing to say, 'Yeah, Coach,' and nothing changes in three months.
"But Justin is a player who I'll always remember that if I said to work on something, he would do it and do it very well. He's up there as one of the most dedicated players. He's come from a boy to a man."
Rasmussen became GCU's leading scorer as a junior with six goals and 14 points, but doing so this season has meant more with the winning. The team's season was delayed and shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Rasmussen has made the most of it with five goals in a 7-0 run.
Beyond the role of captain and top scorer, Rasmussen formed a personal relationship with each teammate and his head coach.
"Schellas has been a great influence and mentor for me," Rasmussen said. "Now coming to the end of his personal chapter, I can now call him a good friend. He's been able to help me grow in so many personal ways. He was able to get the best out of me. As a man, he's taught me a lot about how to respond positively and how to grow in more ways than he knows."
The soccer ways are what shine most to soccer fans. Against Air Force on March 6, Rasmussen drilled a left-footed rocket across the field that was as pure as any shot he ever took. It curled to the inside of the far post for one of his two game-winners this season.
That sort of talent and passion for the game must come from a soccer family. Well, yes and no.
His parents, Jim and Patty, never played the game and only had a casual knowledge when Rasmussen became attached to the sport. His mother was his first coach for an under-7 team named the Rynos after his younger brother, now an aspiring golfer. It was foreshadowing.
Rasmussen may be quite the soccer success story, but Jim and Patty might have him beat. Capitalizing on a need in a growing soccer market, they formed Las Vegas Sports Academy and built it into Las Vegas' premiere soccer club.
LVSA brings a 900-team tournament to Las Vegas in January normally, but the Las Vegas tournament that matters most to them this year has GCU two wins away from guaranteeing the program's second NCAA Division I tournament trip. This time, Rasmussen will be a factor, as he navigates the emotional ride of his greatest season, his coach's final games and his Monday commencement for a degree in Business Management with a minor in graphic design.
"I couldn't be happier to have come to GCU," Rasmussen said. "Everyone who comes here almost has the same passion for the school. The way God works through all the students on campus, you can't find an unfriendly face on campus. I'll never walk through this campus and have nobody talk to me. This has been one of the best choices of my life."
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The next level still shocked him. It scared him, but Rasmussen had come too far to turn back.
"Back home, I was a big fish in a small pond," the GCU senior forward said of that freshman who carried 40 fewer pounds. "Here, I was a small fish in the ocean, swimming with sharks."
Now Rasmussen is the shark, constantly moving about the tank and feasting on goal opportunities to be the leading scorer on an undefeated Lopes team that opens the WAC Tournament with a Thursday semifinal in his hometown.GCU, ranked 16th nationally in the coaches' poll and fourth by RPI, is coming as full circle to that 2018Â NCAA tournament team as Rasmussen is in his four-year journey from the skinny freshman who logged 23 minutes.
Rasmussen has been open to playing every position and carrying out every directive from GCU head coach Schellas Hyndman, the retiring Hall of Famer with the second-most victories (510) of any active Division I coach.
"I got here and thought, 'I've got to work even harder,' " Rasmussen said. "I was barely scratching the surface. The level was really hard, but I was able to grow into it."
This season, Rasmussen earned All-WAC first team, one of a conference-record five Lopes to do so, for averaging the third most points per game (1.71) in the WAC and 23rd most nationally.
He strikes the ball with confidence that was earned through hard work. He created a powerful shot with improved accuracy, but he couples those weapons with the vision of movements and angles on the field because he has been a sponge to Hyndman dripping knowledge.
"It was a player who wanted it as much as I want to give it to him," Hyndman said. "When you're working with a player, you have the information. Are they willing to absorb it and work at it? It's one thing to say, 'Yeah, Coach,' and nothing changes in three months.
"But Justin is a player who I'll always remember that if I said to work on something, he would do it and do it very well. He's up there as one of the most dedicated players. He's come from a boy to a man."
Rasmussen became GCU's leading scorer as a junior with six goals and 14 points, but doing so this season has meant more with the winning. The team's season was delayed and shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Rasmussen has made the most of it with five goals in a 7-0 run.Beyond the role of captain and top scorer, Rasmussen formed a personal relationship with each teammate and his head coach.
"Schellas has been a great influence and mentor for me," Rasmussen said. "Now coming to the end of his personal chapter, I can now call him a good friend. He's been able to help me grow in so many personal ways. He was able to get the best out of me. As a man, he's taught me a lot about how to respond positively and how to grow in more ways than he knows."
The soccer ways are what shine most to soccer fans. Against Air Force on March 6, Rasmussen drilled a left-footed rocket across the field that was as pure as any shot he ever took. It curled to the inside of the far post for one of his two game-winners this season.
That sort of talent and passion for the game must come from a soccer family. Well, yes and no.
His parents, Jim and Patty, never played the game and only had a casual knowledge when Rasmussen became attached to the sport. His mother was his first coach for an under-7 team named the Rynos after his younger brother, now an aspiring golfer. It was foreshadowing.
Rasmussen may be quite the soccer success story, but Jim and Patty might have him beat. Capitalizing on a need in a growing soccer market, they formed Las Vegas Sports Academy and built it into Las Vegas' premiere soccer club.
LVSA brings a 900-team tournament to Las Vegas in January normally, but the Las Vegas tournament that matters most to them this year has GCU two wins away from guaranteeing the program's second NCAA Division I tournament trip. This time, Rasmussen will be a factor, as he navigates the emotional ride of his greatest season, his coach's final games and his Monday commencement for a degree in Business Management with a minor in graphic design.
"I couldn't be happier to have come to GCU," Rasmussen said. "Everyone who comes here almost has the same passion for the school. The way God works through all the students on campus, you can't find an unfriendly face on campus. I'll never walk through this campus and have nobody talk to me. This has been one of the best choices of my life."
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M
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