The Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer program represents

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on ...

in all

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

men's

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

competitions. Founded in 1985, the Antelopes have competed in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

since 2013. The Lopes are coached by Mike Kraus. GCU plays its home matches at GCU Stadium.

NCAA Tournament history

After transitioning from NCAA Division II to Division I, GCU was eligible for the Division I postseason for the first time in 2017. The Lopes qualified for the NCAA Tournament in just their second season of Division I eligibility, winning the Western Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament in 2018 behind three consecutive 1–0 shutout victories. Grand Canyon qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times at the Division II level, highlighted by a Division II National Championship in 1996.

Facility history

The Lopes played at GCU Soccer Field up until the construction of GCU Stadium. GCU played its inaugural season in the new facility in 2016. Since the opening of the facility, GCU has ranked in the top 10 in average attendance per match in 2016 and 2018, getting significant fan support from the university's student section, the GCU Havocs. GCU Stadium hosted its first game on August 26, 2016, when GCU defeated

UCF The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

4–2. The crowd of 6,402 fans was the ninth-largest crowd in the

2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 58th season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. The regular season began on August 26 and continued into the first weekend of November 2016. The season culminated with the 2016 NCAA Divi ...

. GCU hosted the fourth-largest crowd of the

2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 60th season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. The regular season began on August 24, 2018 and continued into the first weekend of November 2018. The season culminated with the four-tea ...

when it opened the season by defeating

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

2–1 in front of 6,648 fans.

Notable seasons

2018

The 2018 team qualified for the program's first ever

NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champi ...

by going 3–0 in the WAC Tournament. GCU finished as the nation's most improved defense, ranking 181st nationally in goals against average in 2017 before jumping to 25th in 2018. The Lopes finished the season 5–0 against top-25 opponents, defeating No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 20 Creighton, No. 25 Seattle U, and Air Force twice, once as No. 8 and once as No. 13.

1996

Grand Canyon won the

NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States. It has been played annually since 1972; prior to then, all teams competed ...

by defeating Seattle Pacific, Lynn and

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Coaching history

GCU has had five head coaches in its program history.GCU Men's Soccer Coaching History
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Notable alumni

Matheau Hall Matheau "Matt" "Dupe" Hall (born July 27, 1987) is an American retired soccer player. Career Hall played college soccer at Tyler Junior College between 2005 and 2006, before transferring to Grand Canyon University for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. ...

, professional soccer player *

Niki Jackson Niki Jackson (born August 25, 1995) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship. He grew up in Collierville, Tennessee and Scottsdale, Arizona before attending Cactus Shadows High School and G ...

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

and

2018 MLS SuperDraft The 2018 MLS SuperDraft was the nineteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. As customary, the SuperDraft was held in conjunction with the annual United Soccer Coaches convention. The 2018 UCS was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania be ...

pick * Hector Montalvo,

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

Saeed Robinson Saeed Robinson (born 8 August 1990) is a Jamaican footballer who plays as a midfielder for Greek American AA in the Eastern Premier Soccer League. Career College & Amateur Robinson played four years of college soccer split between Western Te ...

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The franchise is owned by Martin E ...

* Amer Sasivarevic,

OKC Energy FC Oklahoma City Energy Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. History Oklahoma City businessman ...

and

pick (program's first

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada. It takes place in January and is used by teams to select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the le ...

pick) *

Evan Waldrep Evan Waldrep (born May 8, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Hume City FC in the NPL Victoria. Career College Waldrep played at Creighton University in his freshmen and sophomore years and then transfe ...

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle E ...

* Esai Easley,

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

and

2022 MLS SuperDraft The 2022 MLS SuperDraft was the 23rd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season and has been conducted via conference calls since 2020. Previously, the Su ...

pick * Justin Rasmussen,

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

and 2022 MLS SuperDraft pick

References

External links

* {{Western Athletic Conference men's soccer navbox 1985 establishments in Arizona Association football clubs established in 1985