Eight wayward minutes was all it took.
 
In a playoff match that lived up to the pregame 'Duel In The Desert' billing, the Grand Canyon University Men's Rugby team nearly came back from a 15-point deficit in the match's final 10 minutes before dropping a 41-35 decision to the University of Arizona in the Round of 8 of the 2026 D1A Rugby Playoffs in Tucson Saturday afternoon. The loss officially puts a close to the Lopes' 15s season, while the Wildcats advance to next weekend's final four round.
 
"This was our finest performance since I got here: gritty, disciplined, skillful & passionate," said Lopes' Head Coach Sean O'Leary. "The players left everything on the field. That is the seniors' legacy and is our baseline moving forward. The returning players will now understand and drive those standards forward."
 
The aggressive nature of the matchup also lived up to the hype, which took both offenses time to adjust to. The Lopes spent all of the match's first 10 minutes buried in the shadow of their own try line, fending off numerous UA scoring opportunities before Arizona's Nick Morgan scampered 35 yards through the middle of the GCU defense to break the scoreless tie. The Lopes' first try was borne from an Arizona offsides penalty deep in their own zone, with GCU's Lachlan Jackson capitalizing on it with a dive in the 28^th minute to tie it. GCU took their first lead of the match into halftime, but had to work for it on the half's final drive, bullying their way into the middle of the 'Cats' defense for a Dylan Mercer score in the 41^st minute. The 14-12 edge didn't last long into the second half as a UA chip kick turned into a length-of-the-field run for a score, but GCU marched right back down the field to give Vince McKeefery a dive try and took a 21-17 lead. That's when the momentum swung too far the other way for GCU's liking. Another long try run, a spinning try just three minutes later, and a defensive GCU breakdown on the next kickoff that resulted in a 3^rd UA score suddenly gave UA a 36-21 lead with 17 minutes left.
 
"We felt if we stayed within a score or two throughout the game, we could pull it out," said O'Leary. "We had been in four games (earlier this season) that came down to the last plays, so we knew what was needed and felt good about that."
 
Seemingly fatigued, the Lopes mustered extra reserve and turned the tide in a hurry, using timely Arizona penalties to earn rumbling tries from GCU's Danny Sanchez and Sammy Siaki within a four-minute span. Luke Neely's final kick in a perfect 6-for-6 day in two-point conversions cut the deficit to a single point with six minutes left, and the Lopes seemed poised to complete the comeback until they fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Wildcats scored quickly. A missed two-pointer by the Wildcats left the door open for the Lopes, but GCU couldn't mount a final attack in the last three minutes.
 
The Lopes finish the 2025-26 campaign with a 7-5 overall record.