Lopes close trip with 1-1 draw at UCSB

Sunday, September 21

Santa Barbara, Calif.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

4-2-1, 0-0-0

UC Santa Barbara

2-4-2, 0-0-0

Grand Canyon

UC Santa Barbara

9/21/2025 10:20:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

GCU's Diouf scores 6th goal of season; Ibarra registers season-high 8 saves

By: Nick Macdonald

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – After being down 1-0 early in the first half against UC Santa Barbara, Grand Canyon men's soccer found a first-half equalizer from freshman phenom Junior Diouf, and the Lopes' defense shut out the Gauchos in the second half to end its two-match road trip with a 1-1 Sunday draw that moved GCU to 4-2-1 on the season.

News and notes

Diouf entered the contest ranked top 15 nationally in points and goals and added his sixth goal of the season in the 23rd minute of play. Diouf is two shy of seventh on the program's Division I-era single-season goal list with nine regular-season games remaining.
Lopes graduate forward Ben Assane tallied his fourth assist of the season. All four have gone to Diouf, with Assane's GCU total of nine since his 2024 arrival tying for fifth in GCU's D-I era.
Graduate goalkeeper Daniel Ibarra recorded a season-high eight saves for the Lopes, moving his season total to 21. The eight saves are tied for most in a single game among WAC goalies this season.
The Lopes totaled 11 shots, extending its streak of double-digit scoring games to seven.

In a match that saw 29 shots, 10 saves and 14 corner kicks, GCU and UC Santa Barbara (2-4-2) immediately challenged opposing goalkeepers with shots from all over the pitch. The Gauchos made Ibarra work early in the 12th minute, stopping a high rising shot with his right hand pushing the ball over the crossbar.

"I thought guys played well tonight," Lopes head coach George Kiefer said. "I believe we deserved a second goal in the match, hitting the inside of the post late in the first half and a couple one-on-one situations. It was a great environment in front of a big crowd, and I thought down the stretch we played with a lot of discipline."

Two minutes into the start, the Gauchos scored the first goal via Buba Fofanah. With Ibarra at the top of the 18-yard box, the goalie backtracked to his left toward Fofanah, who received a cross from left to right and rattled a shot on net. Freshman defender Diego Sanchez attempted a slide to block the shot, but the ball ricochet into the top left corner of the goal.

With eight shots between both teams through 15 minutes, GCU's biggest shot of the night came off the foot of Diouf in the 23rd minute. Diouf took a pass from Assane and ran toward the left post with Gaucho goalkeeper Luke Skinner holding guard. Diouf's quick footwork from left to right gave him enough space on the goal line for a shot, which trickled across the line for the equalizer.

The Lopes nearly took the lead before halftime when redshirt freshman Raul Vazquez's hard-fired shot hit the left post and was cleared out for a corner. Nineteen shots were seen in the first half along with eight corners, six of which were granted to UC Santa Barbara.

Both teams had quality shots on frame in the second half. Lopes sophomore Michael Watkins had two attempts in a 30-second span in the 51st minute, when one was blocked and the other was saved.

GCU's back line of Vazquez, Felipe Cobian, Liam Harrington and Charles Volcy played all 90 minutes en route to a second-half shutout amid blanking UCSB for the final 76 minutes. The Lopes have yet to give up more than one goal in a match this season and rank second in the WAC in goals against average.

GCU returns to Phoenix for three straight matches at GCU Stadium, beginning Friday versus CSUN at 7 p.m.