Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus San José State on October 4, 2026 , Win , 2, to, 1
M Soccer
vs San José State
W 2-1
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, November 14
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 PM
Grand Canyon
13-5-2, 8-0-2
1
vs
0
UNLV
11-6-3, 6-3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNLV | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Canyon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
11/14/2026 11:50:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Coet's late game winner sends GCU to its 2nd consecutive NCAA Tournament
Grand Canyon men's soccer keeps making history.
In its first Mountain West season, GCU celebrated a 1-0 victory over UNLV in front of more than 2,000 fans Saturday night at GCU Stadium to claim the conference's first regular-season and postseason championships.
The win gave the Lopes (13-5-2) an automatic berth for its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and stretched its unbeaten streak to 13 matches.
"It's amazing, to see all the fans and the emotions and to bring a community like this out for the match, you can feel the impact from them," GCU head coach Jamie Davies said. "The boys worked so hard for this, through ups and downs, they put everything into it, and I am so happy for them."
Eight Grand Canyon home events took place from Monday to Saturday, and the eighth Lopes win came at GCU Stadium with a packed crowd that saw a migration of GCU Havocs flood the Platform at halftime following a home men's basketball victory. That home-field advantage gave the Lopes a second-half burst after a scoreless draw through the first 45 minutes of play.
Entering the night second in the nation in shots on goal per game and fourth in shots, the Lopes were held to four shots in the first half by UNLV (11-6-3), which had three with the closest call coming in the 23rd minute via Rebels' Nick Legendre. GCU fifth-year goalkeeper Beltran Fernandez was out just enough for UNLV to take a chip shot attempt from 35 yards out, but Fernandez turned back and saw the ball hit inside the crossbar with a bounce to him.
That attempt was the closest UNLV would get the rest of the way, as halftime adjustments and a wave of Havocs swung the stadium momentum toward the Lopes.
A five-minute spree included four Lopes shots, starting in the 53rd minute. Two were saved off GCU junior forward Alan Hermitte's attempts from the left side. The Lopes kept firing, seeing freshman midfielder João Gonçalinho and senior forward Sabri Hanni nearly find the back of the net before UNLV goalkeeper Hugo Lemos' tie-preserving stops.
As GCU kept peppering the goal, the stadium's pulse was ready to erupt.
In the 83rd minute, GCU's attack started from the back line as freshman defender Matas Jokubaitis sent a cross toward the right corner flag. GCU freshman Bradley De Jesus gave a one-touch pass to freshman forward Rafael Coet, who without hesitating saw the open space and fired a chip shot. The ball floated high enough over Lemos and perfectly dropped into the net for Coet's first goal of the season to give the Lopes a 1-0 advantage.
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"Rafa has all the talent in the world," Davies said. "This whole team has goal-scoring potential and has that special sauce to him. It takes one moment, and we found that moment."
As the crowd erupted, GCU had seven minutes to fend off any last-minute Rebel attacks. UNLV was only able to get one more shot attempt, as the Lopes back line and Fernandez limited its opposition to seven shots, one shot on goal and three corner kicks.
"What I do know is God has a plan," Lopes senior captain and four-year Lope Jorge Lopez said. "When I came back and saw all the guys, I knew there was something special in this group. What a team we have and we are not done. We want to keep building off this and get stronger and keep moving on."
The shutout win was GCU's fourth of the season with two coming at the Mountain West Championship.
"This is like a family," Coet said. "From the guys I play with to the campus, the school and everything, I love it here and we are like a family. I am so happy to be here, and I know the guys will do everything to go far in the tournament."
The victory gave GCU its third D-I era conference tournament title and 13th regular season or conference title in program history. The Lopes will play in their fifth NCAA Tournament next week and fourth since 2020.
The NCAA Selection Show will commence Monday at 11 a.m. (Phoenix time) on ncaa.com.
In its first Mountain West season, GCU celebrated a 1-0 victory over UNLV in front of more than 2,000 fans Saturday night at GCU Stadium to claim the conference's first regular-season and postseason championships.
The win gave the Lopes (13-5-2) an automatic berth for its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and stretched its unbeaten streak to 13 matches."It's amazing, to see all the fans and the emotions and to bring a community like this out for the match, you can feel the impact from them," GCU head coach Jamie Davies said. "The boys worked so hard for this, through ups and downs, they put everything into it, and I am so happy for them."
Eight Grand Canyon home events took place from Monday to Saturday, and the eighth Lopes win came at GCU Stadium with a packed crowd that saw a migration of GCU Havocs flood the Platform at halftime following a home men's basketball victory. That home-field advantage gave the Lopes a second-half burst after a scoreless draw through the first 45 minutes of play.
Entering the night second in the nation in shots on goal per game and fourth in shots, the Lopes were held to four shots in the first half by UNLV (11-6-3), which had three with the closest call coming in the 23rd minute via Rebels' Nick Legendre. GCU fifth-year goalkeeper Beltran Fernandez was out just enough for UNLV to take a chip shot attempt from 35 yards out, but Fernandez turned back and saw the ball hit inside the crossbar with a bounce to him.
That attempt was the closest UNLV would get the rest of the way, as halftime adjustments and a wave of Havocs swung the stadium momentum toward the Lopes.
A five-minute spree included four Lopes shots, starting in the 53rd minute. Two were saved off GCU junior forward Alan Hermitte's attempts from the left side. The Lopes kept firing, seeing freshman midfielder João Gonçalinho and senior forward Sabri Hanni nearly find the back of the net before UNLV goalkeeper Hugo Lemos' tie-preserving stops.
As GCU kept peppering the goal, the stadium's pulse was ready to erupt.
In the 83rd minute, GCU's attack started from the back line as freshman defender Matas Jokubaitis sent a cross toward the right corner flag. GCU freshman Bradley De Jesus gave a one-touch pass to freshman forward Rafael Coet, who without hesitating saw the open space and fired a chip shot. The ball floated high enough over Lemos and perfectly dropped into the net for Coet's first goal of the season to give the Lopes a 1-0 advantage.
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MAYHEM!! GOAL!! LOPES LEAD LATE IN THE SECOND HALF! https://t.co/XNfPUt2iQi
— GCU Men's Soccer (@GCU_MSoccer) November 15, 2026
"Rafa has all the talent in the world," Davies said. "This whole team has goal-scoring potential and has that special sauce to him. It takes one moment, and we found that moment."
As the crowd erupted, GCU had seven minutes to fend off any last-minute Rebel attacks. UNLV was only able to get one more shot attempt, as the Lopes back line and Fernandez limited its opposition to seven shots, one shot on goal and three corner kicks.
"What I do know is God has a plan," Lopes senior captain and four-year Lope Jorge Lopez said. "When I came back and saw all the guys, I knew there was something special in this group. What a team we have and we are not done. We want to keep building off this and get stronger and keep moving on."
The shutout win was GCU's fourth of the season with two coming at the Mountain West Championship.
"This is like a family," Coet said. "From the guys I play with to the campus, the school and everything, I love it here and we are like a family. I am so happy to be here, and I know the guys will do everything to go far in the tournament."
The victory gave GCU its third D-I era conference tournament title and 13th regular season or conference title in program history. The Lopes will play in their fifth NCAA Tournament next week and fourth since 2020.
The NCAA Selection Show will commence Monday at 11 a.m. (Phoenix time) on ncaa.com.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's SoccerTeam Stats
UNLV
GCU
Goals
0
1
Shots
7
16
Shots on Goal
1
6
Saves
5
1
Corners
3
9
Fouls
9
12
Scoring Plays
Rafael Coet (1)
Assisted By: Bradley De Jesus , Matas Jokubaitis
GOAL by GCU Coet, Rafael Assist by De Jesus, Bradley and Jokubaitis, Matas.
82:35
Game Leaders
fwd
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
mid
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Sunday, November 15
Sunday, November 15
Sunday, November 15
Sunday, November 15