No. 19 Lopes begin WAC play at home

Saturday, Sept. 25 | 7 p.m. | Phoenix, Ariz.


No. 19 Grand Canyon Lopes (5-1)	vs	Seattle U Redhawks (4-4)
	Live Video Live Stats Match Notes

The No. 19 Grand Canyon men's soccer team kicks off conference play against Seattle U at GCU Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday with the match streamed live on ESPN+. The Lopes finished the nonconference slate at the top of the WAC with a 5-1 record. GCU is undefeated at home at 3-0.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

CLIMBING THE POLL: After defeating a tough Cal Poly team on the road in overtime, the Lopes moved up from No. 25 to No. 19 in the national top 25 voted by the United Soccer Coaches pollsters.
AFONSO RISING: GCU's leading goal scorer, fifth-year midfielder Marco Afonso, was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career and was also named to the College Soccer News national team of the week. Afonso scored two goals, including the game-winning golden goal in a 3-2 overtime road win at Cal Poly. Afonso already has set career highs for goals in a game (two) and season (four).
GRIFFIN GEARED FOR 1ST WAC SLATE: In his first year as GCU's head coach, Leonard Griffin enters WAC play for the first time with a 5-1 team.

SCOUTING

Seattle U (4-4) is coming off a tough 2-1 overtime loss against No. 3 Washington, which is the Lopes' only defeat of the season.

The Redhawks' goal leader Declan McGlynn has three goals this season. He scored the solo goal against Washington and also scored goals against Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis.

McGlynn is the only Redhawk to earn a WAC Player of the Week honor, which came in the first week of the season.

Seattle U head coach Pete Fewing is in his 28th overall season as head coach for the Redhawks with a 327-183 record.

LAST TIME OUT

The Lopes moved to 5-1 after defeating Cal Poly in a 3-2 overtime win.
In the 61st minute, GCU senior Alejandro Fernandez-Alcaide found Afonso on the through ball 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 to go, the Mustangs scored the equalizer, forcing the Lopes into their first overtime game this season.
Seven minutes into overtime, 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," Afonso said. "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."

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Lopes hit the road for two WAC games, starting with Houston Baptist on Friday and Chicago State next Sunday.

Saturday, Sept. 25 | 7 p.m. | Phoenix, Ariz.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

LAST TIME OUT

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marco Afonso

Marios Andreou

Rafael Guerrero

Justin Rasmussen

Cameron Weller

Grand Canyon University Athletics