Rhythm comes as GCU win streak hits 4

Sunday, October 4

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

6-5-0, 3-0-0

San José State

3-6-2, 0-2-1

Team	1	2	Final F
San Jose St.	0	1	1
Grand Canyon	1	1	2

Photo by: Jenna Quinn

10/4/2026 11:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes' 3-0 MW start keeps them alone atop standings

By: Paul Coro

A change of seasons arrived, and so has Grand Canyon men's soccer.

Since the calendar turned from summer to fall and the GCU schedule went from nonconference to conference play, the Lopes are harvesting wins. GCU remained atop the Mountain West on Sunday night by recording its fourth consecutive victory with a 2-1 home win against San José State.

Lopes juniors Alan Hermitte and Cruzeiro Cruz scored their first goals of the season, and that proved enough for GCU to hold onto its 2-1 lead for the final 28 minutes.
Arnau Camaño

The Lopes (6-5, 3-0 MW) kept up their relentless attack that ranked third nationally for shots per match (18.8) with eight first-half shots. They turned more potent Sunday night at GCU Stadium by putting seven of those eight shots on goal, repeatedly coming close to a go-ahead score before Hermitte struck in the 33rd minute.

Cruz, a halftime substitution, followed with a goal 13 seconds into the second half – the soonest GCU has scored a goal in a half in the program's Division I era (since 2013).

All season, GCU has been effective in creating offensive opportunities but had one multi-goal match until doing so in each of its four consecutive wins, the last three of which came in MW action.

"It's that part of the season with a new group," GCU first-year head coach Jamie Davies said. "You learn a lot, and you keep progressing. The group's doing that and getting better and better each week. You need games to figure things out and get confidence. We're starting to hit a rhythm and figuring things out at the right time."

The Lopes nearly scored earlier with senior midfielder Jorge Lopez setting up freshman forward Rafael Coet beautifully, and junior defender Bildad Abonga's header getting deflected after a pinpoint entry pass from freshman midfielder João Gonçalinho. It took a couple of saves by fifth-year goalkeeper Beltran Fernandez and a sliding Abonga save to keep the 0-0 tie in tact for a breakthrough.

Running the same left side where senior midfielder Jorge Lopez had just posed a threat, Hermitte took a long lead pass from Gonçalinho to set up his fourth career goal – all of which have been go-ahead scores in GCU wins.
Alan Hermitte

After an outstretched hand by Mountain West saves leader Ronin Axelson denied Hermitte moments earlier, the Frenchman delivered a strike that Axelson could not reach. Hermitte's left-footed, sharp-angled blast found net in the near upper corner.

"I really like those ones, and last year when we played San José State, I had a couple like that where I was going behind but then I wouldn't make a good decision in the last 18," said Hermitte, who made his fifth start of the season. "I didn't see anyone in the box when I looked to the right, so I was like, 'Go for it,' but I know the angle is really hard. I tried to score it off the first post because he wouldn't expect it and it worked out."

With an injury to Coet and a yellow card for senior Sabri Hanni, Davies turned to Cruz to take over the "10" attacking midfielder spot for the second half. The Mesa Dobson High School graduate had two starts and a quality outing at CSU Northridge before an injury setback last month, but he picked up where he left off when the Phoenix College transfer found out he was starting at the end of halftime.

Making a read on San José State pressure, Fernandez sent a long ball about 50 yards to open second-half play. Lopez took control of a carom and delivered his conference-leading eighth assist to Cruz, whose one-time, left-footed strike from the top of the box to the right side of the net gave GCU a 2-0 lead.

It broke the GCU D-I era mark for quickest goal in a half, set in 2014 by Nieblas Rodriquez when he scored 43 seconds into a second half against Pacific.

"I was excited to go in," Cruz said. "It starts with Beltran, and Jorge saw the space and played it through. I just thought, 'Why not?', and hit first time to see what happens. I caught it clean, and it went bottom quarter. It feels amazing. You could see in the celebration that it means everything."

The Lopes nearly stretched the lead to 3-0 before San José State tightened a 2-0 lead to 2-1, just as the Spartans did in last year's WAC Tournament championship. But like that match, the Lopes maintained the 2-1 edge for the final 28 1/2 minutes.
Fernandez finished with two saves and received help from his back line, including Abonga and freshman Bradley DeJesus playing all 90 minutes.

San José State took more shots (14-13) in the match, but GCU put more on goal (8-3).

"We have found more quality in the last 18," Hermitte said. "I think we could score much more still. We have so many more opportunities where we can do a better job. But there was a period of games where we struggled to score goals, and now it's going better. We see the results. It feels good to be first in the conference."

With a five-freshman starting lineup, GCU has outscored opponents 9-4 in total during its four-match winning streak. The Lopes play Saturday at UC Davis, which is off to a 1-1-1 Mountain West start.

"You'd like a couple of those first-half chances to go in, but it shows the maturity of the group to stick with the plan and not get frustrated," Davies said.