Stacking crucial wins.

In nearly a must-win situation for their postseason hopes, GCU Men's Lacrosse pulled two key conference wins in the span of 42 hours this weekend, knocking off 8^th-ranked San Diego State University, 8-7, Friday night before routing Chapman University, 11-6, Sunday afternoon.

Friday: GCU 8, San Diego State 7

After falling to the University of Arizona, 15-6, the weekend prior, the Lopes came out with a renewed sense of urgency against the Aztecs. Lopes' junior attackman Marshall Moore got the scoring started early in the first quarter and GCU never trailed from there.

It wasn't easy, though.

GCU, a team that normally prides itself in excellent face-off win percentages, did not have the same luck against the Aztecs as junior Cruise Clay only won six of 17 faceoffs.

"SDSU has the reigning 1^st team AA face-off specialist from last season," said GCU Head Coach Jeff Guy. "We knew it was going to be tough, but Cruise did a great job of being physical with him."

Leading by a goal both at halftime and after three quarters - thanks to scores from Moore, Caleb Brager, Kaden Hodgkison, Liam Reid and Cameron Seymour - GCU managed to always keep SDSU an arm's reach away.

The Lopes went back up two to start the fourth quarter on a driving shot from midfielder Luke Bollinger before the Aztecs quickly answered. GCU senior attackman Kyle Capshaw extended the Lopes' lead again with five minutes remaining. Though the Aztecs tried to make it interesting with a goal at the final 30-second mark, GCU goalie Jake Hives and the GCU defense tied the ribbon on the victory, forcing the Aztecs to use the majority of their shot-clock time each trip down the field to close the game.

"Our defense executed our game plan well," said Guy. "We played well on ball defense throughout the game and had minimal mistakes in the clear game."

Sunday: GCU 11, Chapman 6

In their last home game of the year, the Lopes came out firing on all cylinders, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in front of the GCU Soccer Stadium crowd and maintained the lead throughout the quarter, ending it on a fast-break goal from senior defensive midfielder Cannen Barcom that sent the GCU sideline into a frenzy.

After a relatively quiet second quarter, Lopes' attackman Cameron Seymour made his presence felt in the third, scoring two goals and assisting on a third as GCU extended their lead to 10-5, and the Panthers never threatened from there.

Brager, Seymour and Kaiden Atteberry led the Lopes' attack with two goals each. Hives finished the game with 16 saves, keeping out 73% of all Chapman attempts on goal.

Prior to the first face-off, the Lopes took time to honor their nine seniors: Barcom, Bollinger, Capshaw, Hives, Reid, Garrett Beck, , Tyler Carter, Luke Hanson and Donovan Rodas.

"This group of seniors was my first recruiting class being back as head coach, and each one of them has put a lot of time and effort into the program," said Guy. "They have spent the past four years dedicating themselves to reaching their potential as a collegiate lacrosse player. It was great to see us have success this past weekend and win their last home game."

The five-goal difference goes down as the largest margin of victory against the Panthers in program history, and the win itself marks the first time that GCU has ever beat Chapman on GCU's campus.

"Our defense has been playing well the entire season, so it's no surprise that they limited those two teams to a total of 13 goals this weekend," said Guy. "We have a lot of big, strong, athletic defenders, and one of the best goalies in the MCLA. They have been our backbone this season and we will continue to improve as the season goes on."

The Lopes (6-4 overall, 2-1 SLC) return to action this weekend in Los Angeles, California, facing off with the UCLA Bruins on April 5 and the University of Southern California on April 6.