Completed Event: Men's Soccer at California Baptist on October 12, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1
M Soccer
at California Baptist
L 0-1
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Brayden Stenner
Diouf dazzles to be national goals leader as freshman
11/20/2025 6:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
GCU's Senegalese forward becomes 1st frosh in nation to reach 17 goals since 1999
On his way to amassing the most goals in the nation this season, Grand Canyon freshman Junior Diouf has scored game-winning goals 86 seconds after a kickoff and 22 seconds before a final horn.
Diouf's 17 goals have come off both feet and his head. From straightaway and acute angles. After he broke into the clear with a 180-degree spin and when he navigated one-on-four traffic.
With electric moves that burn goalkeepers, patience that puzzles back lines and magical footwork that vanishes defenders, the 18-year-old Lope might seem like he comes from all directions but Diouf has just one decisive direction. The forward moves forward.
That forward thinking put GCU in the NCAA Tournament for a Thursday match at UCLA at 3 p.m. (Phoenix time on ESPN+) and placed the national spotlight on Diouf and his Lopes.
No freshman in the nation has scored as many goals as Diouf's 17 since 2010, when Michigan's Sonny Saad tallied 19 and Akron's Darren Mattocks scored 18. And Diouf may not be done. No freshman has finished a season as the national goals leader since Portland's Conor Casey in 1999.
"GCU has meant a lot to me," Diouf said. "They've given me a lot of opportunity, and I'm not going to take that for granted. I really appreciate the coach because he helped me a lot, not just on the field. I'm not going to say Coach George. I'm going to say George Kiefer."
Kiefer's deep soccer ties and the GCU roster's pre-existing Senegalese presence helped bring Diouf from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, New Jersey, to Phoenix, about 6,000 miles away from his home.
As a UConn assistant coach at the turn of the century, Kiefer recruited St. Benedict's players when the school's current head coach, Jim Wandling, was an assistant there.
For the past four years, Kiefer also has visited RISE Academy in Senegal, where that after-school development program coaches soccer and teaches English to prepare players for U.S. college opportunities.
"When I go to watch players, I like it to hit me quick that this kid is good," said Kiefer, who is in his second year at GCU and 24th year as a Division I head coach. "I don't like to hem and haw over guys. With Junior, I knew right away."
GCU fans did too on Opening Night.
Diouf, coming off an injury and rounding into shape, did not start the Aug. 21 match and only played 31 minutes. That part is forgotten.
Etched in Lopes lore is Diouf dancing by two Jacksonville defenders along the goal line before swerving to boot a tying goal in the 81st minute. With 22 seconds remaining, Diouf scored again on a rebound to notch his first GCU win of a 13-3-4 season.
It marked the first of Diouf's five braces on the way to a 17-goal season, which he punctuated with two WAC Tournament semifinal goals and a championship game goal that took remarkable footing on a rain-drenched field.
"I'm not surprised," said Serigne Babacar Diallo, who met Diouf in 2019 at RISE Academy, where he also met another Senegalese GCU teammate, graduate forward Ben Assane. "I always tell Junior he can do so much better. Very rarely, I will clap for him because I know what he can do."
Diouf idolizes soccer icon Neymar and envisions achievement beyond than this historic season. The GCU experience has fulfilled him more than he realized it would and not just for setting a GCU Division I-era goals record or being within one goal of the 26-year-old WAC goals record of 18, set by SMU's Mohamed Fahim.
"When we won the championship, that was my favorite moment," Diouf said. "I felt happy, not only for myself, but my teammates and coaches. I didn't know that it was four years since they won at the WAC Tournament. I found out in the first round and said, 'Well, I've got work to do,' and I put everything I had into it."
It has been that way for Diouf with soccer for as long as he can recall. Raymond Junior Diouf, who has three siblings, is named for his grandfather. His father, Andre, is a painter who can't access livestreams, so he follows his son's historic season through Google searches and video clips that his son sends.
"I didn't do anything else growing up – school, soccer, school, soccer," Diouf said. "I love everything about soccer. The best part of my days is when I'm on the field."
Diouf visited a coach twice on weekends and on Wednesdays until he was 10. Hen then began playing in the national program's youth teams and at RISE Academy, which was founded in 2019 by former UConn and MLS player Mamadou Diouf (no relation), who told Kiefer about the early-teen Diouf.
"In every game I would go to, he would shoot one from distance always just to let people know he's in the game," Kiefer said. "But then he would make guys fall down every game, like he did at Utah Tech.
"Where the game's ticking a thousand miles an hour, his brain is being really calculated."
Diouf first came to America to attend and play at The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, before a coaching change there prompted him to join Senegalese friend Amadou Hann, who was playing at national prep power St. Benedict's Prep two hours away in Newark.
Much like his year at GCU, his year at St. Benedict's started with injury, was eased into for fitness reasons and finished big with a championship in the rain – one in which he chipped a 40-yard overtime goal a year ago this week.
"I'm not surprised by what he's doing," said Wandling, whose son, Baden, rooms with Diouf as GCU freshman teammates. "The upside for Junior is ridiculous. He's got a lot of room to still grow. What's scary is he has not reached his capacity."
Mulling pro offers, Diouf trusted his namesake RISE mentor, who advised him to think about his education and pledged that Kiefer would develop him on and off the field. That pleased his father and mother, Anna, who Diouf shows the campus with daily FaceTime calls.
Diouf made his mark in college soccer swiftly with a unique, unorthodox style that gets defenders unbalanced. The 6-foot-1 striker turns clinical in the box with an ability to quickly read the slightest of leans from goalkeepers.
"When the ball's at his feet, he does what other people typically aren't thinking about," said Wandling, whose program has nine alumni in the NCAA Tournament. "That has the ability to put defenders on their backsides."
And has.
Diouf made the watch list for the Hermann Trophy, which goes to the nation's top player and will announce semifinalists Dec. 9. He has been a human highlight reel who has rounded out his crafty-and-calm game with more passing and defense as GCU has gone without a loss since Oct. 12.
"I think what differentiates him from other players is he is so composed and relaxed," Diallo said. "He makes it seem really easy."
Diouf counters, "I couldn't do that stuff without them. The credit is for my team, not me. When I'm playing, I look back and see 10 other people who are working hard for me. If there's 100%, I'm 10% and they're 90%."
Now that his conditioning and health are optimal, Diouf has not come off the field in four of the past five matches. Over the last 10 matches, he has rested for an average of less than six minutes per match.
That kid from Senegal who only wanted to be on the field when he was not in school is helping GCU to keep winning so that he can stay on the field longer again.
"We're not done yet," Diouf said. "Hopefully, we're going to have one more month to try and win NCAA and make history.
"This is a piece of the pizza. A bite. My dream is higher than this. I dream of going pro and to go play in England – the best championship in the world."
Watch all of Diouf's 17 goals in chronological order ...
Diouf's 17 goals have come off both feet and his head. From straightaway and acute angles. After he broke into the clear with a 180-degree spin and when he navigated one-on-four traffic.
With electric moves that burn goalkeepers, patience that puzzles back lines and magical footwork that vanishes defenders, the 18-year-old Lope might seem like he comes from all directions but Diouf has just one decisive direction. The forward moves forward.That forward thinking put GCU in the NCAA Tournament for a Thursday match at UCLA at 3 p.m. (Phoenix time on ESPN+) and placed the national spotlight on Diouf and his Lopes.
No freshman in the nation has scored as many goals as Diouf's 17 since 2010, when Michigan's Sonny Saad tallied 19 and Akron's Darren Mattocks scored 18. And Diouf may not be done. No freshman has finished a season as the national goals leader since Portland's Conor Casey in 1999.
"GCU has meant a lot to me," Diouf said. "They've given me a lot of opportunity, and I'm not going to take that for granted. I really appreciate the coach because he helped me a lot, not just on the field. I'm not going to say Coach George. I'm going to say George Kiefer."
Kiefer's deep soccer ties and the GCU roster's pre-existing Senegalese presence helped bring Diouf from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, New Jersey, to Phoenix, about 6,000 miles away from his home.
As a UConn assistant coach at the turn of the century, Kiefer recruited St. Benedict's players when the school's current head coach, Jim Wandling, was an assistant there.
For the past four years, Kiefer also has visited RISE Academy in Senegal, where that after-school development program coaches soccer and teaches English to prepare players for U.S. college opportunities."When I go to watch players, I like it to hit me quick that this kid is good," said Kiefer, who is in his second year at GCU and 24th year as a Division I head coach. "I don't like to hem and haw over guys. With Junior, I knew right away."
GCU fans did too on Opening Night.
Diouf, coming off an injury and rounding into shape, did not start the Aug. 21 match and only played 31 minutes. That part is forgotten.
Etched in Lopes lore is Diouf dancing by two Jacksonville defenders along the goal line before swerving to boot a tying goal in the 81st minute. With 22 seconds remaining, Diouf scored again on a rebound to notch his first GCU win of a 13-3-4 season.
It marked the first of Diouf's five braces on the way to a 17-goal season, which he punctuated with two WAC Tournament semifinal goals and a championship game goal that took remarkable footing on a rain-drenched field.
"I'm not surprised," said Serigne Babacar Diallo, who met Diouf in 2019 at RISE Academy, where he also met another Senegalese GCU teammate, graduate forward Ben Assane. "I always tell Junior he can do so much better. Very rarely, I will clap for him because I know what he can do."Diouf idolizes soccer icon Neymar and envisions achievement beyond than this historic season. The GCU experience has fulfilled him more than he realized it would and not just for setting a GCU Division I-era goals record or being within one goal of the 26-year-old WAC goals record of 18, set by SMU's Mohamed Fahim.
"When we won the championship, that was my favorite moment," Diouf said. "I felt happy, not only for myself, but my teammates and coaches. I didn't know that it was four years since they won at the WAC Tournament. I found out in the first round and said, 'Well, I've got work to do,' and I put everything I had into it."
It has been that way for Diouf with soccer for as long as he can recall. Raymond Junior Diouf, who has three siblings, is named for his grandfather. His father, Andre, is a painter who can't access livestreams, so he follows his son's historic season through Google searches and video clips that his son sends.
"I didn't do anything else growing up – school, soccer, school, soccer," Diouf said. "I love everything about soccer. The best part of my days is when I'm on the field."
Diouf visited a coach twice on weekends and on Wednesdays until he was 10. Hen then began playing in the national program's youth teams and at RISE Academy, which was founded in 2019 by former UConn and MLS player Mamadou Diouf (no relation), who told Kiefer about the early-teen Diouf."In every game I would go to, he would shoot one from distance always just to let people know he's in the game," Kiefer said. "But then he would make guys fall down every game, like he did at Utah Tech.
"Where the game's ticking a thousand miles an hour, his brain is being really calculated."
Diouf first came to America to attend and play at The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, before a coaching change there prompted him to join Senegalese friend Amadou Hann, who was playing at national prep power St. Benedict's Prep two hours away in Newark.
Much like his year at GCU, his year at St. Benedict's started with injury, was eased into for fitness reasons and finished big with a championship in the rain – one in which he chipped a 40-yard overtime goal a year ago this week.
"I'm not surprised by what he's doing," said Wandling, whose son, Baden, rooms with Diouf as GCU freshman teammates. "The upside for Junior is ridiculous. He's got a lot of room to still grow. What's scary is he has not reached his capacity."
Mulling pro offers, Diouf trusted his namesake RISE mentor, who advised him to think about his education and pledged that Kiefer would develop him on and off the field. That pleased his father and mother, Anna, who Diouf shows the campus with daily FaceTime calls.Diouf made his mark in college soccer swiftly with a unique, unorthodox style that gets defenders unbalanced. The 6-foot-1 striker turns clinical in the box with an ability to quickly read the slightest of leans from goalkeepers.
"When the ball's at his feet, he does what other people typically aren't thinking about," said Wandling, whose program has nine alumni in the NCAA Tournament. "That has the ability to put defenders on their backsides."
And has.
Diouf made the watch list for the Hermann Trophy, which goes to the nation's top player and will announce semifinalists Dec. 9. He has been a human highlight reel who has rounded out his crafty-and-calm game with more passing and defense as GCU has gone without a loss since Oct. 12.
"I think what differentiates him from other players is he is so composed and relaxed," Diallo said. "He makes it seem really easy."Diouf counters, "I couldn't do that stuff without them. The credit is for my team, not me. When I'm playing, I look back and see 10 other people who are working hard for me. If there's 100%, I'm 10% and they're 90%."
Now that his conditioning and health are optimal, Diouf has not come off the field in four of the past five matches. Over the last 10 matches, he has rested for an average of less than six minutes per match.
That kid from Senegal who only wanted to be on the field when he was not in school is helping GCU to keep winning so that he can stay on the field longer again.
"We're not done yet," Diouf said. "Hopefully, we're going to have one more month to try and win NCAA and make history.
"This is a piece of the pizza. A bite. My dream is higher than this. I dream of going pro and to go play in England – the best championship in the world."
Watch all of Diouf's 17 goals in chronological order ...
JUNIOR DIOUF ties this match up!!
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) August 22, 2025
The freshman scores his first career goal ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/LKrEciLyRS
IT'S CHAOS!!! IT'S ELECTRIC!!! IT'S A GAME WINNER FROM JUNIOR DIOUF!!!! pic.twitter.com/9yF8Yek1D3
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) August 22, 2025
SPIN CYCLE!! 🌪️
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) August 26, 2025
Diouf's third goal in two games. GCU leads 3-1! pic.twitter.com/beN9h1oxCg
WOOOP!!! Junior Diouf does it AGAIN!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/17tSGFvBGq
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) August 29, 2025
Junior Diouf has scored 😄
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) September 9, 2025
5th goal of the season for the freshman. pic.twitter.com/JjOwbNf1aX
He's back in the scoring column‼️
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) September 22, 2025
Junior Diouf ties this match up at 1-1. pic.twitter.com/lKWBjaFwOH
Another match, another Junior goal 🤩⚽️
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) October 1, 2025
That's the freshman's 7️⃣th goal of the season!! pic.twitter.com/BEqaU2Zj3f
Deja vu?? 😅
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) October 1, 2025
Goal number TWO tonight from Junior Diouf! 2-0 GCU‼️ pic.twitter.com/LU0dPu3LTG
Are you kidding me?! 🫨
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) October 5, 2025
Junior Diouf with the flick ⚽️ His NINTH goal of the season and the Lopes take a 2-1 lead! pic.twitter.com/qLUVXHoy0n
I mean what can't he do?!
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) October 5, 2025
Junior Diouf scores his 10th goal of the season and it's a 3-1 lead for GCU. pic.twitter.com/YsX4Xc66cr
1 MINUTE & 26 SECONDS in, Junior Diouf has a goal! 🤯
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) October 10, 2025
1-0 GCU! 🤘 pic.twitter.com/J0EqpAv1OB
Junior turns the silence into applause: AGAIN! 😮💨
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) October 24, 2025
Diouf with his 12th goal of the season, putting him in a tie for 2nd in a single-season in GCU's D-1 era!! #LopesUp pic.twitter.com/6SxnfWasK3
ARE WE SURPRISED?!
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) November 2, 2025
Junior nets the penalty to even it up! 🤘 pic.twitter.com/DOP8Mxu9Io
THE WONDERKID!!
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) November 2, 2025
Junior with the brace to give the Lopes the lead!!#LopesUp pic.twitter.com/t5CiUX9TcM
Did Junior Diouf score today?
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) November 13, 2025
Yes, yes he did ✅ 4-0 Lopes lead! pic.twitter.com/VG8N536uFg
JUNIOR DIOUF 👑
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) November 13, 2025
Now tied for the NATION'S LEAD in goals scored this season with 1️⃣6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/XT8ptEEuER
TOP BINS 🫨 Felipe Cobian with an incredible strike to give GCU the lead!#NCAASoccer x 🎥 ESPN+ / @WACsports / @GCU_MSoccer
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) November 15, 2025
pic.twitter.com/NFwZYApSLf
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