ACC power SMU scores early, survives GCU's 10 2nd-half shots
By: Paul Coro
Over 225 consecutive minutes of soccer, SMU barely winced on defense.
The Mustangs entered Grand Canyon having allowed only five shots in their previous two wins and turned stingier to deny the Lopes from taking a first-half shot Thursday night at GCU Stadium.
But GCU's second-half attack made SMU blink like a turn signal. The Lopes launched seven shots in the second half's first nine minutes Thursday night, when they could not find the net and suffered their first loss of the season on a 1-0 decision to the Mustangs.
SMU (3-1), a perennial power ranked No. 5 in the preseason, defeated GCU (3-1) when the Lopes had to play without freshman scoring sensation Junior Diouf (four goals in three wins) due to last Thursday's debated red card.
The Mustangs' red jerseys acted as constant reminders of the costly red card, but GCU cracked the code on SMU's defense to apply second-half pressure.
"We started off well, but to SMU's credit, they backed us up in the first half," Lopes head coach George Kiefer said. "The response out of the guys in the second half, I was really pleased. That's one of the best teams in the country. If we could have played that way for a full match, maybe we walk away with a point."
The Lopes launched 10 second-half shots, including the closest call coming in the 51st minute when graduate forward Ben Assane gathered in box traffic and ripped a shot off the center of the crossbar.
The ball deflected downward, showing how close it was to scoring, and set off a flurry of four GCU shots by four Lopes in 36 seconds.
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           Charles Volcy
"We were confident in our play," Lopes freshman defender Charles Volcy of Montreal, Canada. "It was a tough game, but we did our thing.
"The coaches motivated us at halftime, and it came from the gut. We wanted to win for the fans, the university and, most importantly, for us."
Lopes sophomore forward Michael Watkins took a team-high four shots, including one that was blocked in that four-shot onslaught.
After GCU did not earn a first-half corner kick, Wakins had a header go left and another shot blocked off strong corners from sophomore Richard Tabares Ochoa and junior Felipe Cobian.
The Lopes' last scoring chance came in the 83rd minute, when Assane took their 10th shot of the half and missed high and left.
"We just pushed guys against their back three," Kiefer said. "We played our wingers more inside. That forced their wingers to have to track our outside backs. Then we just dipped guys into these soft pockets. I thought it was effective for us."
SMU scored in the 19th minute of the match when Daniel Escoria escaped two GCU defenders on the sideline to launch a cross that Milton Lopes touched for a goal on the Mustangs' first shot.
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         Daniel Ibarra
SMU only took four more shots in the match against GCU graduate goalkeeper Daniel Ibarra, who received his first start after playing the second half of the Lopes' win last Thursday.
The Mustangs nearly pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 33rd minute, but Ibarra stopped a point-blank shot and dived to his right to deflect a chance off the rebound.
"He made two incredible saves," Kiefer said.
In the season's first "March to the Match" with Havocs filling The Platform with the sounds of chants and drumbeats, a crowd of 1,278 fans created an environment for the Lopes to stay among the small group of remaining undefeated teams.
But without their top scorer, GCU showed its merit by pushing an Elite Eight team from last season to the wire.
"I love it here," Volcy said. "It was crazy. They cheer for us, so we appreciate the support."
The game was a Schellas Hyndman tribute of sorts with the United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame member attending Thursday night after leading historic eras for both teams.
Hyndman won 368 games in a 24-year SMU run that included two College Cup trips and later guided the start of GCU's Division I era with 2018 breakthroughs for the Lopes' first top-25 ranking and NCAA D-I Tournament trip in 2018.
"That was a really nice year for us because we were not expected to win the conference in Seattle," said Hyndman, the fifth-winningest coach in D-I men's soccer history. "This was a special moment in my life – a special place."
The Lopes will end their season-opening string of five consecutive home matches on Monday, when Santa Clara visits GCU Stadium and Diouf returns to the Lopes' lineup.
