Lopes, Wolverines set for WAC quarterfinals Sunday

Sunday, November 9

Riverside, Calif.

5 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

Utah Valley

Tickets

11/8/2025 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Watch Live Stats Tickets

No. 3 seed GCU faces No. 6 seed Utah Valley at 5 p.m. MST on ESPN+

By: Nick Macdonald

AT A GLANCE

Grand Canyon heads to Riverside, California, for the WAC Tournament and will play No. 6 seed Utah Valley in the quarterfinals Sunday at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time).
The WAC Tournament appearance is the first for the Lopes since the 2022 season. GCU is seeking its second WAC Tournament title, last winning in 2018.
The Lopes ended the season with 10 wins, their most since 2021 and the third most in the program's Division I era. It is the ninth Lopes team to eclipse a double-digit win total since 2005. GCU also finished with nine wins at GCU Stadium, tied for the most home victories since the stadium opened in 2016.
GCU freshman forward Junior Diouf earned a plethora of awards, including WAC Offensive Player of the Year and WAC Freshman of the Year. He is the third Lope to earn WAC Offensive POTY and the first since Shaun Joash in 2022. Diouf is having one of the best single seasons in program history, ranking fourth in the nation in goals (14) and points (32) while totaling 60 shots, 29 shots on goal, a .483 shot-on-goal percentage and five game0winning goals, which is tied for second most in the nation. He also was named to the All-WAC first team and the WAC All-Freshman Team.
Graduate forward Ben Assane tied the single season D-I program record with his sixth assist in the Lopes' 3-2 win over UNLV on Nov. 1. Assane has 11 assists over his two years in Phoenix, and was named to the All-WAC second team after being named to the Preason All-WAC Team in August.
Joining Diouf on the WAC All-Freshman Team is defender Charles Volcy and forward Max Kiefer. Volcy leads the Lopes in minutes played with 1,332 and has started in 15 of 16 games for a back line that has a goal differential of plus-19. Kiefer is third on the team in assists (three) and has one goal and 16 shots in 17 games.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU played its final regular season match at home Wednesday against Justice, defeating the Lions 7-0 to improve to 10-3-4 overall on the season.
The win was the ninth of the season for the Lopes, who tied a 2016 single-season mark for wins at GCU Stadium.
The Lopes are 2-0-3 in their last five games, including back-to-back wins at home over UNLV and Justice.

SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY

The Wolverines are 8-3-3 overall and finished WAC regular season play 2-3-2.
GCU defeated Utah Valley 3-1 in their first meeting this season at GCU Stadium. That match saw Diouf score two goals and junior midfielder Jorge Lopez connect for his first goal of the season.
Utah Valley has scored 31 goals to 16 allowed, owning a plus-15 goal differential compared to GCU's plus-19. Isaac Emojong leads the squad with six goals, 14 points and 19 shots on goal. Emojong, Gilles Aurelien, and Keegan Oyler were all tabbed on the All-WAC second team.
The Lopes are 4-0-1 in their last five games against the Wolverines. The last time the two teams met on a neutral field was Nov. 7, 2018 in Seattle, for a WAC Tournament quarterfinal that GCU won 1-0 in overtime on the way to its tournament championship.