Oh, what could've been.
After setting a tone in its first two matches of the Region V Soccer Tournament with late-game heroics,
Grand Canyon University Men's Club Soccer Team Purple couldn't deliver the late fireworks when it had to have it at the end, dropping its final pool-play match to the University of Kansas, 2-0. The loss nosed the Lopes out of a berth in the national qualifier match and eliminated them from play at the tournament in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Lopes seemed to enjoy the fireworks in the final 10-15 minutes of play before getting shut down by KU. In their first game of the tournament, the University of South Dakota held the Lopes' defense in check much of the game, taking a 1-0 lead at halftime and a 2-1 edge midway through the 2
nd half. Then the combination of
Reeise Remmer,
Keegan Acres and
Joseph Butzke ran roughshod over the Coyotes' back line, all scoring goals in the final 15 minutes of play to wrest a 4-2 victory away from USD. The Lopes seemed to learn their lesson about slow starts in Game 2 against the Colorado School of Mines, using a Remmer goal to take a 1-0 cushion into halftime, but the Orediggers rallied early in the second half to tie the score. The defenses took over until the match's final minute when GCU's
Preston Kasovac found the back of the net with just 10 seconds left to keep the Lopes unbeaten.
All that stood between the Lopes and their second straight trip to the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association Women's Soccer National Championships was the Jayhawks.
"We dominated the entire match, yet we went into halftime still 0-0," said
Lopes' Head Coach Luke Pilarski. "We just couldn't finish our chances."
Kansas took advantage of a free kick early in the second half to finally break the scoreless tie. Again, the Lopes had several chances to provide the neutralizer, but never struck paydirt, and a KU breakaway goal in the final moments of the match sealed the Lopes' fate.
The Lopes close the fall half of the 2025-26 season with an overall record of 6-2-1, and a 4-1-1 mark in Region V play. They'll begin the spring side in January.
