Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus UNLV on September 26, 2026 , Win , 2, to, 1
M Soccer
vs UNLV
W 2-1
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
GCU clicks to put win streak at 6
10/14/2026 10:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro
Lopes stay perfect in MW midway through conference play
As Grand Canyon grows more into its style of play, the Lopes can make it look like they are the only team on the field with possession-controlling passing and shot-denying defense.
GCU's connected ways have resulted in Mountain West first-place standing at the conference season's midpoint and a tie for the nation's third-longest active winning streak after downing Air Force 2-0 on Wednesday night at GCU Stadium.
The Lopes notched their sixth consecutive victory, trailing only the current seven-match winning streaks of Fairfield and High Point nationally. With its first victory against Air Force since 2020, GCU (8-5, 5-0 MW) has defeated each conference opponent once this season to hold a one-win lead over UNLV (8-3-2, 4-1 MW).
After allowing just one goal in each previous victory of the winning streak, GCU shut out its opponent for the first time since a 1-0 win at Sacramento State on Aug. 23.
"We've been together longer, and the connections are coming," Lopes first-year head coach Jamie Davies said. "We did a better job in terms of being more connected and closer to each other, which makes all of these combinations a little bit easier, sharper, cleaner and more effective. They executed that really well tonight."
The Lopes struck for a goal in the first eight minutes for the third time in the past five matches and made that lead stand with a defense that kept Air Force from taking a shot for a 34-minute stretch. Striking early in a half again, GCU provided a cushion by scoring fewer than five minutes into the second half and let the defense do the rest.
Both goals were products of GCU's possession-oriented play, but the first one came out of the Lopes playing keepaway from the Falcons (2-6-4, 1-3-1 MW) for a full minute of play.
In the seventh minute, Lopes freshman defender Matas Jokubaitas intercepted a backfield pass. Seventeen passes, no Air Force touches and one minute later, GCU was leading 1-0 after the ball movement picked up with freshman forward Rafael Coet getting the ball in open space.
Coet led freshman winger Bradley De Jesus into the right side of the box, where De Jesus passed back into the middle as freshman forward Arnau Camaño drew attention toward the goal for senior midfielder Jorge Lopez to trail and drill a 10-yard one-timer for his third goal of the season.
"We were definitely moving the team around from side to side," said Lopez, who also ranks second nationally with eight assists. "The moment finally came, we got the ball to Brad's side. He was able to get a cross off. Mani (Camaño) ran off of it, and the defenders followed him. I just entered the box freely, and I was able to put the ball away, thanks to the team. The build-up was incredible. The goal was incredible. The celebration was incredible. It's one to remember for sure."
Air Force did not take a shot until the 21st minute but managed to keep the first-half score at 1-0, escaping danger when a Falcons foul set up senior forward Sabri Hanni for a free kick just outside the box. His bender went wide left, ending the first half with a 6-3 shot edge and a 60-40 possession advantage for the Lopes.
Another pass sequence, this time with eight, set up GCU's 50th-minute goal by senior midfielder Martin Luala. The Phoenix Washington High School graduate has been unleashed for more attacking play this season. After having a potential first goal wiped away by a foul recently, Luala gave GCU a 2-0 lead on a smooth give-and-go with Camaño.
Lopes freshman defender Felix Oberwaditzer sent a long ball from the midifeld to Camaño, who headed the ball out of a double team to Lopez. The ball worked back to Luala, who dribbled into the box's edge and passed to Camaño, whose perfect touch set up Luala continuing toward goal. Luala dribbled past one Falcon and fired from 10 yards to the near side of the net for a Lopes 2-0 lead.
"I just played it to my '9,' and I was like, 'Let me keep running and maybe he can bounce it back to me,' " Luala said. "So when we he did, I just saw my chance and hit it with my left.
"(Davies) has changed my mentality and playing style. I'm attacking and touching the ball more. There's a lot he has done."
Of Luala, a MLS SuperDraft first-round pick last year, Davies said, "He's going everywhere. He helps in the build. He helps in the final third. He has the qualities to do it, and obviously we've given him the license to it. You can see the creativity coming out in him as well. We're lucky to have him, and he's an incredible player."
GCU outshot Air Force 15-8 with Camaño, the Mountain West's leading goal scorer, only taking two of the shots. But Camaño's presence created each Lopes goal and other opportunities, as the Falcons defense compacted the middle and stuck to the Spaniard.
"People try to focus on him, and does that open up space for someone else?" Davies said. "I imagine if Jorge gets a couple goals or assists, they'll start focusing on Jorge and maybe that opens up Manu (Camaño) again. That's a good thing about this team. There are multiple threats. That is what we tried to put together in the recruiting to be at this stage where there are multiple people who can affect and can score. You want to be able to attack in different ways."
"We never set out just to do one thing. You've got to be able to do the nice and pretty stuff, but we've also got to be able to go in behind them and stretch the game too. They had a balance tonight."
GCU junior Alan Hermitte fired a couple shots high that might have pushed the margin to 3-0, but the Lopes still have outscored opponents 14-5 since the winning streak began with a 2-1 win at CSU Northridge on Sept. 20. Luala said the team's mentality changed after a 1-0 home loss to California Baptist on Sept. 16.
"What really gave us the confidence was that next game at CSUN," said Lopez, the captain supporting Luala's perspective. "Ever since then, we've been on that six-game winning strreak. That boosted our confidence and way of playing -- our goals, our celebrations. It's lovely. Now, we've got to keep going."
GCU stays home for a 7 p.m. Sunday conference match against Utah Tech at GCU Stadium.
GCU's connected ways have resulted in Mountain West first-place standing at the conference season's midpoint and a tie for the nation's third-longest active winning streak after downing Air Force 2-0 on Wednesday night at GCU Stadium.
The Lopes notched their sixth consecutive victory, trailing only the current seven-match winning streaks of Fairfield and High Point nationally. With its first victory against Air Force since 2020, GCU (8-5, 5-0 MW) has defeated each conference opponent once this season to hold a one-win lead over UNLV (8-3-2, 4-1 MW).After allowing just one goal in each previous victory of the winning streak, GCU shut out its opponent for the first time since a 1-0 win at Sacramento State on Aug. 23.
"We've been together longer, and the connections are coming," Lopes first-year head coach Jamie Davies said. "We did a better job in terms of being more connected and closer to each other, which makes all of these combinations a little bit easier, sharper, cleaner and more effective. They executed that really well tonight."
The Lopes struck for a goal in the first eight minutes for the third time in the past five matches and made that lead stand with a defense that kept Air Force from taking a shot for a 34-minute stretch. Striking early in a half again, GCU provided a cushion by scoring fewer than five minutes into the second half and let the defense do the rest.
Both goals were products of GCU's possession-oriented play, but the first one came out of the Lopes playing keepaway from the Falcons (2-6-4, 1-3-1 MW) for a full minute of play.
In the seventh minute, Lopes freshman defender Matas Jokubaitas intercepted a backfield pass. Seventeen passes, no Air Force touches and one minute later, GCU was leading 1-0 after the ball movement picked up with freshman forward Rafael Coet getting the ball in open space.
Coet led freshman winger Bradley De Jesus into the right side of the box, where De Jesus passed back into the middle as freshman forward Arnau Camaño drew attention toward the goal for senior midfielder Jorge Lopez to trail and drill a 10-yard one-timer for his third goal of the season.
"We were definitely moving the team around from side to side," said Lopez, who also ranks second nationally with eight assists. "The moment finally came, we got the ball to Brad's side. He was able to get a cross off. Mani (Camaño) ran off of it, and the defenders followed him. I just entered the box freely, and I was able to put the ball away, thanks to the team. The build-up was incredible. The goal was incredible. The celebration was incredible. It's one to remember for sure."
Air Force did not take a shot until the 21st minute but managed to keep the first-half score at 1-0, escaping danger when a Falcons foul set up senior forward Sabri Hanni for a free kick just outside the box. His bender went wide left, ending the first half with a 6-3 shot edge and a 60-40 possession advantage for the Lopes.
Another pass sequence, this time with eight, set up GCU's 50th-minute goal by senior midfielder Martin Luala. The Phoenix Washington High School graduate has been unleashed for more attacking play this season. After having a potential first goal wiped away by a foul recently, Luala gave GCU a 2-0 lead on a smooth give-and-go with Camaño.
Lopes freshman defender Felix Oberwaditzer sent a long ball from the midifeld to Camaño, who headed the ball out of a double team to Lopez. The ball worked back to Luala, who dribbled into the box's edge and passed to Camaño, whose perfect touch set up Luala continuing toward goal. Luala dribbled past one Falcon and fired from 10 yards to the near side of the net for a Lopes 2-0 lead.
"I just played it to my '9,' and I was like, 'Let me keep running and maybe he can bounce it back to me,' " Luala said. "So when we he did, I just saw my chance and hit it with my left."(Davies) has changed my mentality and playing style. I'm attacking and touching the ball more. There's a lot he has done."
Of Luala, a MLS SuperDraft first-round pick last year, Davies said, "He's going everywhere. He helps in the build. He helps in the final third. He has the qualities to do it, and obviously we've given him the license to it. You can see the creativity coming out in him as well. We're lucky to have him, and he's an incredible player."
GCU outshot Air Force 15-8 with Camaño, the Mountain West's leading goal scorer, only taking two of the shots. But Camaño's presence created each Lopes goal and other opportunities, as the Falcons defense compacted the middle and stuck to the Spaniard.
"People try to focus on him, and does that open up space for someone else?" Davies said. "I imagine if Jorge gets a couple goals or assists, they'll start focusing on Jorge and maybe that opens up Manu (Camaño) again. That's a good thing about this team. There are multiple threats. That is what we tried to put together in the recruiting to be at this stage where there are multiple people who can affect and can score. You want to be able to attack in different ways."
"We never set out just to do one thing. You've got to be able to do the nice and pretty stuff, but we've also got to be able to go in behind them and stretch the game too. They had a balance tonight."
GCU junior Alan Hermitte fired a couple shots high that might have pushed the margin to 3-0, but the Lopes still have outscored opponents 14-5 since the winning streak began with a 2-1 win at CSU Northridge on Sept. 20. Luala said the team's mentality changed after a 1-0 home loss to California Baptist on Sept. 16."What really gave us the confidence was that next game at CSUN," said Lopez, the captain supporting Luala's perspective. "Ever since then, we've been on that six-game winning strreak. That boosted our confidence and way of playing -- our goals, our celebrations. It's lovely. Now, we've got to keep going."
GCU stays home for a 7 p.m. Sunday conference match against Utah Tech at GCU Stadium.
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