Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer

The Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer program represents Grand Canyon University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. Founded in 1985, the Antelopes have competed in the Western Athletic Conference since 2013. The Lopes are coached by Mike Kraus. GCU plays its home matches at GCU Stadium.

Grand Canyon Antelopes
2020 Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer team
Founded1985
UniversityGrand Canyon University
Head coachMike Kraus (1st season)
ConferenceWAC
LocationPhoenix, Arizona
StadiumGCU Stadium
(Capacity: 6,000)
NicknameAntelopes
ColorsPurple, black, and white[1]
     
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament appearances
2018, 2020, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
2018
Conference Regular Season championships
2020, 2021

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.[2]

Grand Canyon qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times at the Division II level, highlighted by a Division II National Championship in 1996.[3]

Season Round Opponent Score
2018 First round UC Irvine T 1–1, lost in PKs
2020 First round Washington L 2–0
2021 Second round Denver L 1–0

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 4–2. The crowd of 6,402 fans was the ninth-largest crowd in the 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season.[4]

GCU hosted the fourth-largest crowd of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season when it opened the season by defeating Wisconsin 2–1 in front of 6,648 fans.[5]

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.[6]

1996

Grand Canyon won the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship by defeating Seattle Pacific, Lynn and Oakland.

Coaching history

GCU has had five head coaches in its program history.[7]

Years Coach Overall Conference
GP W L T Pct. GP W L T Pct.
1985–92 Peter Duah 140 86 44 10 .650
1993–2014 Petar Draksin 437 225 171 41 .562
2015–2020 Schellas Hyndman 103 45 49 9 .481 58 25 26 7 .491
2021 Leonard Griffin 20 15 4 1 .775 11 9 2 0 .818
2022– Mike Kraus
Totals 599 371 268 60 .569 301 171 105 25 .610

Last updated: December 1, 2021

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Grand Canyon University Athletic Brand Standards". September 20, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  2. Going Dancing: GCU men's soccer team makes history
  3. NCAA Division II Men's Soccer History
  4. 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Attendance Record Book
  5. 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer largest single-game crowds
  6. Season of bests, firsts
  7. GCU Men's Soccer Coaching History
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