Grand Canyon, ranked 22nd in the preseason national poll, jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Alwin Seitz scored in the 64th minute to account for the final margin.

Coach Phillips' Summary
"This was a great test for us.  Grand Canyon has proven to be an NCAA Tournament team over the past few years.  Our standard is to be in the NCAA Tournament, and we were able to challenge ourselves individually and collectively against a team and a program that is deservedly in the Top 25."

Turning Points

• Grand Canyon struck first in the 11^th minute, when a free kick sparked a lead pass which found a runner who had gotten behind the defense.  He drew Andres Vasquez to the left, then shot right inside the far post.
• The Lopes doubled their advantage two minutes into the second half.  Another free runner was able to get a clean look at Vasquez, and rifled a bullet over the keeper's left shoulder.
• After the hosts made it 3-0, the Flames pulled one back.  Alwin Seitz won possession at the center line.  The ball was worked back to him, leading to a dribble through open space to the center of the field 30 yards from the goal.  He rocketed a high shot just under the crossbar.

Match Details
A quick step here and there gave Grand Canyon the edge in a 3-1 win over UIC in the 2021 season opener.  A game Flames defense made play after play, but when the Lopes got their timing right and broke through the back line, they made the most of their opportunities.

Grand Canyon had possession for 58% of the match and took numerous chances to spring an offensive try.  They were whistled offside 11 times, but scored their first two goals on similar, well-timed runs past the defense.

The Flames had a couple of moments to draw level just minutes after GCU's first goal.  Bukola Abdulwahab tried a header off a cross that got blocked back to Jonathan Mayen inside the box, where he took a clean shot but pushed it high.  On the team's next foray into the final third, Abdulwahab took a point-blank shot right into the prone keeper.

Alwin Seitz scored the team's first goal of the season for the second time in his career.  His golazo energized the squad on a hot, 100-plus degree night, and would have made the score 3-2 if not for a leaping tip by GCU's keeper six minutes earlier on another try from Abdulwahab, who took three of the team's eight shots.  Grand Canyon had been staked to a three-goal lead after a defender fell going for the ball inside the box, perhaps assisted to the turf by the goal scorer.

"It took us a while to find our feet," Phillips observed.  "After they went up 3-0, it was a tall mountain to climb.  Our guys kept fighting and were rewarded with a deserved goal.  We adjusted to the speed of the game in the second half and played better in the last 30 minutes than we did in the first 60."

The Lopes had to survive one more threat in the form of an Eddie Garcia lob from outside the right corner of the box.  The keeper seemed to stumble slightly as he backpedaled, but was able to leap high enough to tip it over the crossbar.

Though Grand Canyon won the battle of first-time starters in goal, Andres Vasquez made more than his share of important plays.  When he wasn't energetically coming way off his line to break up a threat, he was diving to grab or punch the ball away from the goal.  GCU took 12 shots on the match, and would have had more but for the likes of Pau Mateo and Manny Cerritos, who made big plays against GCU's speedy forwards.

Vasquez was one of three Flames to debut in the starting lineup, joined by Younes Dayekh and Jonathan Mayen.  First year players David Ejeh and Brian Perez saw action off the bench.  Phillips substituted liberally in the desert heat, and only Dayekh and Garcia among field players played the full 90 minutes.  Josiah Ash, who was injured in September 2019, returned to the pitch for the first time in nearly two years.

The Flames will turn their attention to city rival Northwestern, who will visit Flames Field for the home opener Monday night.