Lopes honor seniors, fall to WAC champ Air Force

Saturday, November 5

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

7-7-3, 4-3-2

Air Force

8-5-3, 7-1-1

Air Force

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Garrett Ohrenberg

11/5/2022 9:43:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score

GCU faces Seattle U in WAC Tournament 1st round on Wednesday in Riverside

By: Paul Coro

The Grand Canyon men's soccer team enters the WAC Tournament with a 3-1-1 record against its fellow qualifiers.

It is a regular-season performance that bodes well for the Lopes' postseason aspirations, but the mark felt somewhat hollow Saturday night when that one loss kept them from earning a WAC Tournament first-round bye.

Needing a win to vault to No. 2, a shorthanded GCU team delivered one of its better efforts of the season against WAC regular-season champion Air Force but went unrewarded in standings points after a 2-0 loss spoiled Senior Night at GCU Stadium.

The Lopes will open the WAC Tournament against Seattle U on Wednesday at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) in Riverside, California. GCU (7-7-3. 4-3-2 WAC) finished in a fifth-place tie with tournament host California Baptist, which it tied 0-0 this season, but the Lopes lost a secondary tiebreaker to drop to the No. 6 seed.

Shaun Joash

"It was one of those nights where I think we probably deserved a little bit more," GCU head coach Mike Kraus said. "We played some good soccer in the first half and created some good chances. When you have those chances created and look back, you realize that there's a talented No. 9 that could have helped us.

"The silver lining is that we have more life in the tournament. If we feel like we deserve more, then it's up to us to go out and earn it the next few games."

That No. 9, Lopes senior forward Shaun Joash, finished the regular season as the WAC co-leader in goals (11), but he and sophomore defender Clayton Duarte were suspended for Saturday's game after each received his eighth yellow card of the season on Sunday.

Regardless, GCU tested Air Force (8-5-3, 7-1-1 WAC) throughout a scoreless first half. It began with only one shot between the two teams in the first 14 minutes, but the Lopes put on a 15th-minute barrage that nearly put freshman midfielder Juan Contreras in scoring position twice before junior midfielder Ben Awashie's subsequent long shot also was broken up.

Just six minutes later, Lopes sophomore forward Kaden Cameron sent a blast at the goalkeeper as the residual of senior midfielder Charles Noyelle's diagonal pass into the box, where freshman Bright Nutornutsi fought airborne for a header. In the 36th minute, it was Nutornutsi in another battle. He staved off two defenders after a pass from freshman midfielder Ben Augee, but the shot was deflected away by Air Force goalkeeper Jakob Stone, who made seven saves in his first career start.

Nutornutsi, who was located in the box again later by freshman midfielder Cameron Cruz, fired a team-high five shots with three going on goal.

"Bright did really well," Kraus said. "He was good in hold-up play and got in the end of crosses. He had some chances that I think he would like to have back, but was in a good spot and found himself in good spots. He's played out wide almost the entire year and had to run up top as the No. 9 and I think he performed really well."

Nutornutsi was one of three GCU freshmen who started Saturday and one of nine freshmen to play significant minutes. The Ghana native was making his fifth start and fourth in the last five games.

"I think we are doing good now and, going into the tournament, I think we will do great," Nutornutsi said. "Right now, we have a good team, but there are just little misunderstandings. We'll work on that in practice and do better in the tournament. When the (suspended) guys are back in, we'll have a strong team in the tournament."

After outshooting Air Force 7-4 in the first half, the Falcons scored on what Kraus called a "shross" — an intended cross that became a shot lofting perfectly over backpedalling sophomore goalkeeper Leon Schmidt in the 48th minute.

Cameron Cruz

GCU continued to put on heat in pursuite of at least a tie, which would have made it the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Cruz put together three consecutive threats in a six-minute span, including a leaping, point-blank header off Noyelle's pass that Stone deflected from hitting his face. Minutes later, Cruz battled on the goal line for a ball and fed Nutornutsi, whose shot was blocked on a sliding save by Stone.

A backfield turnover led to an Air Force opportunity that put Nick Bisagno one-on-one with a charging Schmidt in the 69th minute. The chipped goal put the Falcons ahead 2-0, a score that stuck to send GCU into the tournament on a 4-2-2 stretch.

"We know we can compete and play against anybody that's in it," Kraus said. "We went toe to toe with the group that had clinched. Ultimately, at full strength, it might be a little different. I'm anxious, interested, curious and hungry to see. I think the rest of the guys in the locker room are as well. We know, when we step on the field against anybody in the country, we've got a chance."