The Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer program represents

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The university offers degrees in over 200 areas of study and is administrativel ...

in all

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

men's

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

since 2013. 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 Havocs. GCU Stadium hosted its first game on August 26, 2016, when GCU defeated UCF 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 Di ...

. 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 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA championship men's College soccer in the United States, college soccer. The regular season began on August 24, 2018, and continue ...

when it opened the season by defeating

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

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 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 tournament (formerly the NCAA College Division soccer tournament) is an annual event organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the national champions of men's collegiate socc ...

by defeating Seattle Pacific, Lynn and

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

Coaching history

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

* Matheau Hall, professional soccer player * Niki Jackson,

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

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 b ...

pick * Hector Montalvo,

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

* Saeed Robinson, Colorado Springs Switchbacks * Amer Sasivarevic,

OKC Energy FC Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer lea ...

and

pick (program's first

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

pick) * Evan Waldrep,

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. They won the league championship in 2023, defeating the ...

* Esai Easley,

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

and 2022 MLS SuperDraft pick * Justin Rasmussen,

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have 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