Home debut shows potential, ends in 2-0 loss

Friday, August 28

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-2-0, 0-0-0

UC Riverside

1-1-1, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
UC Riverside	1	1	2
Grand Canyon	0	0	0

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

8/28/2026 11:10:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU outshoots UC Riverside 23-6, earns 14 corner kicks

By: Paul Coro

Learning patience is not as fun of an experience as winning, but it is a necessary step for Grand Canyon men's soccer to build a program base with 22 new players and a new coaching staff.
Arnau Camaño

The Lopes flashed potential and talent in head coach Jamie Davies' GCU Stadium debut, but outshooting UC Riverside 23-6 and dominating possession still resulted in a 2-0 loss Friday night.

GCU (1-2) is forming connections that were slightly askew, resulting in five of 23 shots going on goal while having 14 corner kicks and many strong build-ups. Once UC Riverside (1-1-1) capitalized on a free kick from a GCU foul, the Highlanders packed the backfield in a way it could not have done if any early Lopes chance had found net.

"It's the start of the season, and you're getting better in other areas, but obviously the most important area is the area where you score goals," Davies said. "That's probably where we lack. We created the chances. There were probably 16 clear-cut chances, and there was like a force field.

"We just couldn't stick the ball in the back of the net, but it wasn't for lack of trying. It wasn't for lack of possession. We could add more purpose with our passes in the final third."

GCU freshman forward Alhassan Alhassan took as many shots as UC Riverside's team (six), and another freshman forward, Arnau Camaño, fired four shots. Just before UC Riverside took the lead, GCU had three quality scoring chances in a three-minute stretch:

Alhassan made a one-on-one run off freshman midfielder João Gonçalinho's pass but was thwarted high by junior goalkeeper Giancarlo Sagredo.
Senior midfielder Jorge Lopez made a backfield steal that led to freshman forward Ife Nkabu's open shot that sailed over the crossbar.
Lopez broke out of backfield traffic and set up Elhassan in space against the goalkeeper, but he could not maintain the ball.

In the 29th minute, UC Riverside senior midfielder Ethan Gonzalez accurately placed a long free kick to the right side of the 18-yard box, where junior defender Ethan Gonzalez's header centered the ball. Highlanders junior midfielder Tarket Hamideh scored his second career goal with a strike into the goal's left side for a 1-0 lead.

That did not stem the Lopes' attack, which instantly applied more heat with Lopez's entry setting up a spectacular try by senior forward Sabri Hanni. The Frenchman headed the ball upward to try a bicycle kick that missed above the crossbar.

"We have to stay patient and keep working," Hanni said. "Our time is going to come. It's only three games. We have to stay positive and learn what we did wrong. We can have 100 shots, but if we don't score, it means nothing. It's good because we were dangerous at times."

The Lopes remained on the verge of a tying goal early in the second half, when several shots also went high or wide. A 56th-minute corner kick pinballed inside the goal box with freshman Felix Oberwaditzer nearly putting it past the goalkeeper at point-blank range.

A UC Riverside foul, drawn by GCU freshman midfielder Abdul Rahman Mutebi, gave Lopez a 25-yard direct kick that curled left of the left goalpost.

Leading 14-3 in shots but trailing 1-0, the Lopes suffered a back-breaker in the 63rd minute when the Highlanders used a redirect to score off their second corner kick attempt.

Some GCU shots required diving saves by Sagredo, who came up with one-hand saves on a pair of late-match Camaño headers.

"Guys played some really good chances," Davies said. "You'd be more disappointed if you didn't create the chances. If Ife scores his first goal, the wide-open goal, that changes the whole game. They'd have to come out more vs. sitting back in their defense and it's hard to break down."

If losing a match in which GCU outshot UC Riverside 23-6 felt undeserved, it was a familiar feeling this month. The Lopes opened the season ranked 21st in the nation and fell out of the rankings after losing 2-1 at unanimous No. 1 Stanford and winning 1-0 at Sacramento State.

The Lopes are not only trying to meld new players, but also ones who are new to Division I soccer. Davies played 10 freshmen, including four who started.

"It's going to take time, but we're on the road," Hanni said.

Friday's match marked the first of five consecutive home dates, continuing Thursday night when Oakland visits GCU Stadium and continuing with Houston Christian on Sept. 7, UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 12 and California Baptist on Sept. 16.

"Even though the team is new, that identity, that culture, that drive to be 1% better every day has progressed a lot since Day 1," said Lopez, the captain who is playing his fourth GCU season. "No one has an ego. We all have one goal to strive and get better and become champions at the end of the season.

"We all play as a collective. That comes over time."