GCU takes down No. 22 Oregon State

Monday, September 6

Corvallis, Ore.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

3-1-0, 0-0-0

Oregon State

3-1-0, 0-0-0

Grand Canyon

Oregon St.

Photo by: Scobel Wiggins/Oregon State Athletics

9/6/2021 9:21:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Rasmussen PK in final minutes secures impressive road win for Lopes

By: Sierra Smith

CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Grand Canyon men's soccer team knocked off No. 22 Oregon State 1-0 in a nail-biting road win on Monday night.

The Lopes improved to 3-1 after fifth-year midfielder Justin Rasmussen converted on a penalty kick with 70 seconds remaining in regulation. GCU ended the weekend with a split of a difficult road trip to a pair of nationally ranked Pac-12 sides. Monday marked the Lopes' first win against a ranked team since beating five top-25 opponents in 2018.

"I'm very proud of our team to bounce back from Friday's match and come together against a top-ranked opponent and get the win," said GCU head coach Leonard Griffin, whose team lost 2-0 at No. 5 Washington on Friday night. "This was a very good test and we will look to build off this momentum going into our next match."

Monday served as a Labor Day rematch of a 2019 meeting between the Lopes and Beavers at GCU Stadium. Like the first game between the programs, the game landed in GCU's favor with a 1-0 victory. Unlike the inaugural match from two years ago, the Lopes led Oregon State in scoring opportunities with a 14-11 edge in shots and 5-3 in shots on goal.

Although 25 combined shots yielded nothing but a scoreless match through 88 minutes, a foul was whistled against the Beavers inside the penalty box to give the Lopes their best opportunity to break the scoreless tie. Rasmussen buried the penalty kick into the center of the goal as the Beaver goalkeeper dived left. One of two Hermann Award Watch List members participating in the match, Rasmussen found the back of the net for the second time in the young season.

89'| LET'S GOOOOOOO! 👏👏👏

Rasmussen buries the penalty kick and the Lopes take the 1-0 lead with 70 seconds to go!#LopesUp pic.twitter.com/hlP4qylsUh
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) September 7, 2021

"It's always an honor for me to be the one to take the penalties," said Rasmussen, who converted on GCU's first penalty-kick opportunity of the season. "I'm just happy to be able to put it away and give the team the lead, especially that late in the match."

The match was very physical with a total of 28 fouls and seven yellow cards. There were several near misses with both clubs racking up double-digit shot tallies.

Oregon State (3-1) came out aggressively, leading in shots 4-1 and corner kicks 5-1 through the first 20 minutes. The Lopes countered and became the more aggressive side through the final 70 minutes, taking 13 of the game's final 20 shot attempts.

The GCU back line trio of senior Esai Easley, junior Rodolfo Prado and senior Alejandro Fernandez Alcaide played all 90 minutes and were crucial in the shutout. Freshman goalkeeper Rafael Guerrero put on a great performance with three saves, earning his first shutout as a Lope. GCU won via shutout for the first time this season.

"The whole game was a tough battle," Rasmussen said. "Just back and forth of great spells of soccer being played from both sides. I'm just so proud of all of the boys to keep our composure and continue to play our brand of soccer. We're so ecstatic to walk away with a win over a top-25 side and come home to Phoenix 3-1 ahead of Saint Mary's."

GCU hosts Saint Mary's for its first-ever Los Lopes Night at 7 p.m. on Friday at GCU Stadium. Fans can claim free tickets for an expected full stadium at GCULopes.com/LosLopes.