With both teams gassed down the stretch thanks to playing their second matches in a four-day span, Trinity Western's try in the final five minutes of the match Tuesday night gave them a 29-22 victory over the 20^th-ranked Grand Canyon University Men's Rugby team at the GCU Practice Soccer Field on the GCU campus in Phoenix. The upset ruined the Lopes' chance to even their overall record, dropping to 2-4 after a Saturday loss to the top-ranked team in the nation, the University of California-Berkeley.

The first-ever meeting between the two programs saw the first 70 minutes become a series of streaks – with the Lopes playing from behind much of the way. The Spartans came out firing, getting a try up the middle in the 9^th minute on a second effort from TSU captain Genaro Gandolfo. In the 25^th minute, after being stuffed twice up the middle, the Spartans found the sideline to their liking with a dive from Isaiah DePeiza. The 12-0 deficit sounded the alarm for the Lopes, who used an Aiden Castanon interception on the ensuing kickoff to score a Jackson Gray try to cut the Spartans' lead to seven, then tied it at 12-12 on the final drive of the half on a powerful Will Stranberg run.
 
A penalty kick from Ben Saunders in the second minute of half #2 gave the Lopes a quick 15-12 edge, but it wound up being their only lead of the match. With the Lopes tiring in the final 15 minutes, TSU's speedy Lynden Duggan found the try zone twice in a six-minute span to give the Spartans a 22-15 lead. The Lopes dug in, marching down the field on the ensuing kickoff, and finally cashing in on D.J. Whisenant's corner dive. Saunders' powerful leg tied the match again at 22-22 with a long corner conversion, but the Spartans rang the bell on their final drive on Connor Gibbons' push across the try line with under five minutes left. The Lopes' last gasp got close to the Spartans' 22-meter line until a pass was intercepted to end the threat.
 
"Ironically, the second half against Cal, and this game, have been our two best performances thus far," said Lopes' Head Coach Sean O'Leary. "Our squad is really starting to mature and these two experiences against two very good programs will stand to us long-term."

The Lopes will have all of 10 days to rest before taking to the pitch again – this time in Salt Lake City, Utah against the University of Utah. The Lopes' final home matchup will be the regular season finale Saturday, March 22 against Utah Valley University. It will be a noon kickoff that day at the GCU Soccer Stadium, and admission is FREE.