Lopez becomes D-I era assist leader in Lopes win over UNLV

Saturday, September 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

4-5-0, 1-0-0

UNLV

4-3-2, 0-1-0

Team	1	2	Final F
UNLV	0	1	1
Grand Canyon	1	1	2

Photo by: Presley Burdick

Lopez becomes D-I era assist leader in Lopes win over UNLV

9/26/2026 11:12:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score

Camaño scores 5th goal, Lopez tallies 2 assists

By: Nick Macdonald

In its first ever Mountain West Conference matchup, Grand Canyon picked up right where it left off from last Sunday's nonconference finale victory, winning 2-1 over UNLV Saturday evening at GCU Stadium.

News and Notes

Senior midfielder Jorge Lopez tallied two assists, putting himself number one in the GCU program's D-I era record book for career assists. He entered the evening tied with Marco Alfonso (2017-21) at 13 career assists and left the match holding the title himself. He is five back from Kevin Campbell (1988-91) for fifth all-time in the career record book and his six assists on the season are tied for fifth nationally.
Freshman Arnau Camaño scored his conference leading fifth goal of the season early in the match. The forward has scored in three of his last four games including back-to-back.
Freshman Felix Oberwaditzer scored his second goal of the season, with both Camaño and Oberwaditzer replicating the method of victory against CSUN Sept. 20.
The double digit shot streak extended to nine games, totaling 17 total shots and seven on frame.

"The message was we had to get the job done no matter what," said head coach Jamie Davies. "I think the boys executed tonight very well, and I thought we were good in what we wanted to do and dealt with what they wanted to do. I thought the guys handled the pressure very well and handled the game management and adversity. The message was to get three points, no matter how you get it done, and they did it."

After a come from behind victory that included a crucial penalty kick save from fifth year Beltran Fernandez in the win over CSUN last weekend, GCU fed right off of that victory into an early score against UNLV (4-3-2, 0-1-0 MW), who entered the contest No. 49 in the NCAA RPI.

"It all started last week with the win at CSUN," said Lopez. "We talked as a team that we needed to refocus and end nonconference with a win, and that mindset carried over into getting our first conference win and earning three points. It's huge for us to start Mountain West play with a win and we just have to keep going."

Camaño used all of his 6-2 frame to find the ball off a Rafael Coet cross and headed it onto frame toward the right side of the goal. The ball hit just below the upper right portion of the crossbar and snuck into the corner for an early 8th minute goal.

The goal was set up via corner kick from Lopez, who registered assist number one of two.

GCU went into halftime leading 1-0 while UNLV led in shots (9-5) and corner kicks (7-1).

Ten minutes into the second half saw the Rebels notch the game tying score via Maxim Scordo, who entered one goal back of Camaño for the league lead.

But one possession later is all it took for the Lopes to regain the lead. Off a corner kick, Lopez passed short to freshman João Gonçalinho, who sent in a cross toward the back post. GCU's tall back line crowded the box, with the ball landing perfectly to Oberwaditzer, who headed it straight past Rebel's Hugo Lemos' arms.

"Jorge is a top attacking player for us," said Davies. "He is a player that needs to see consistency and quality, and from talking to him early on in the season and what he wanted out of himself, coming back from injuries and what he wanted to experience with this team and the new coaching staff, it was clear GCU meant a lot to him and you can see that coming through in his play. He's effecting the game in a really good way for us."

It was the first-time all-season UNLV allowed two goals in a single match.

The duo of Lopez and Gonçalinho have combined for 10 of the squad's 16 assists this season.

"Credit to the boys," Lopez said. "Without them, I would not have these numbers. Looking back to 2023, a lot of people have helped me get to this spot that I am in now. While I am aiming for more assists, I also know the job is to win the match in anyway possible."

Whereas the CSUN victory saw GCU's defense make game saving defensive stops, it was the Lopes' offense that kept attacking net with nearly three goals from just missed chances. Coet's dazzling footwork at the goal line saw his shot hit the post, while Camaño nearly added his second after his attempt just sailed over the bar.

The Lopes outshot UNLV 12-3 in the second half and had seven to two shots on goal for the match.

"We controlled the game tonight," said goalkeeper Fernandez. "We scored off set pieces and defended set pieces really well. We were very compact and played very well as a team. We know what it takes to win a game and I think overall this was a team win. The energy from everyone was great and it takes everyone to win, so we keep going with this mindset."

GCU travels to Utah Tech Wednesday, Sept. 30 for its first ever Mountain West road contest. Kick-off is at 6 p.m. MST on Mountain West +.