As the old cliché goes, "Defense wins championships."
Coming off of a tough loss against No. 13 University of Arizona to open the season, the Grand Canyon University Men's Rugby program bounced back by pulling off an upset win over No. 10 San Diego State University, 22-18, last Saturday. After seeing his team surrender 35 points less from one game to the next (the Lopes lost, 53-22, to Arizona), Lopes' Men's Rugby Head Coach Cam Wyper thinks the Lopes have begun to forge their identity as a team.
"UofA was a wakeup call," said Wyper. "We learned quickly what it was going to take to compete in Division 1A, and worked heavily on our defensive systems leading up to this game."
The time spent to improve on the defensive end paid dividends for GCU as they held the Aztecs scoreless in the final 10 minutes of the game. The come-from-behind victory marked a huge milestone for the program, but Wyper knows that the journey is still just beginning.
"I want the boys to develop the attitude that even if we make a mistake or turn the ball over, our defense is good enough to hold," said Wyper. "They know they'll have to keep digging deep moving forward-especially this weekend."
Battling against nationally ranked opponents has been the theme thus far for the Lopes, and this weekend is no different. GCU is set to travel to St. George, Utah, where they will go head-to-head with No. 3 Brigham Young University. The Lopes' next home game will be the following weekend, February 2 when the team will clash with in-state rivals Arizona State University at GCU Stadium at 7 pm.