Afonso's OT goal moves Lopes past Cal Poly

Thursday, September 16

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-1-0, 0-0-0

Cal Poly

2-2-1, 0-0-0

Grand Canyon

Cal Poly

Photo by: Garrett Ohrenberg

9/16/2021 9:47:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Fifth-year midfielder scores twice to lead 3-2 road OT win

By: Sierra Smith

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Grand Canyon men's soccer team took down Cal Poly after fifth-year midfielder Marco Afonso scored a pair of goals, including the golden goal in a 3-2 overtime road win on Thursday night.

The 25th-ranked Lopes' gritty win closed their nonconference play with a 5-1 record. Their three goals on Thursday matched the total that the Mustangs (2-2-1) had yielded in their previous four games combined.

"I'm happy we got the win," Lopes head coach Leonard Griffin said. "We showed a lot of character to pick ourselves up after giving up two late goals in regulation. Cal Poly is a good team that never gave up."

The Lopes and Mustangs combined for nine shots in the first half, but neither side could convert to leave the scoreboard blank until 15 minutes into the second half.

In the 61st minute, GCU senior Alejandro Fernandez-Alcaide sent a perfect through ball to Afonso for a one-on-one opportunity. With his left foot, Afonso was able to get the ball by the Cal Poly goalkeeper for the first goal of the game. The Mustangs had allowed one goal over the previous 295 minutes of play.

Fifth-year midfielder Justin Rasmussen extended the Lopes' lead at the 81:26 mark after Fernandez-Alcaide took a free kick that was redirected by senior forward Cameron Weller over to senior midfielder Marios Andreou, who then passed it to Rasmussen for the left-footed goal. It was Rasmussen's third goal of the season.

Cal Poly put itself on the board in the 87th minute with a header to the right post, ending a two-game shutout streak for the Lopes defense and freshman goalkeeper Rafael Guerrero.

With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Mustangs scored the equalizer, forcing the Lopes into their first overtime game this season.

Seven minutes into the overtime period, GCU drew a foul at the top of the penalty box, giving Afonso the opportunity to shoot the free kick and bend a game-winning goal into the right side of the net.

"I'm super proud of the boys tonight," said Afonso, who has a team-high four goals this season. "The win was the most important thing and we came out here and achieved it. It was a tough fight 'til the very end and coming out on top is an amazing feeling. Well done to this family of mine."

LET'S GOOO!

GOLDEN GOAL @Marcoafonso20 👏💪⚽️#LopesUp pic.twitter.com/Lo02nf3rZj
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) September 17, 2021

"To get a win here on the road is not easy," Griffin said. "It's games like this that will help us learn and grow."

Up next, the Lopes kick off WAC play against Seattle U on Sept. 25 at GCU Stadium.