SACRAMENTO, Calif. – No. 21 Grand Canyon finished its northern California road trip with a shutout victory over Sacramento State, winning 1-0 Sunday evening behind lockdown defensive play and a dazzling left-footed strike by freshman Godson Anim.
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The contest’s lone goal came off the left foot of Anim in the 35th minute. Anim was set up by classmate Joao Goncalinho, both recording their first collegiate points.
Two days after Sacramento State tallied 21 shots, GCU’s defense held the Hornets to seven shots with just two on goal.
GCU fifth-year goalkeeper Beltran Fernandez tallied a pair of saves.
“Great team win tonight,” Lopes head coach Jamie Davies said after his first GCU win. “The first weekend is always difficult, especially playing away. But we’ve been able to play in two great games and learn a lot about ourselves. Very happy with how we won tonight and this group will keep getting better and better.”
The defenses of both sides contained their opposing offenses through the first 20 minutes with the first shot not being recorded until the 12th minute. In each of their first respective outings, both sides combined for 37 shots, but GCU’s defense allowed little to no room for a Hornets offense that scored three goals Thursday night.
GCU junior Alan Hermitte took a long cross and sent a ball toward the bottom left of the net for the Lopes’ first shot on goal and countered that attack with five corner kicks in a three-minute stretch.
The pressure built by the GCU offense broke through in the 35th minute off the foot of Anim, who dribbled toward the left-side corner flag and sent a blistering left-footed shot on net. The spin of the ball tailed toward and eventually over the line off a slight goalkeeper deflection, breaking the 0-0 stalemate.
Freshman midfielder Joao Goncalinho was credited with the assist for his first career collegiate point.
GCU held the Hornets to two shots, neither of which were on goal, and one corner kick in the first half.
The Lopes defense came out of halftime like it did in the first opening minutes, stopping would-be counter attacks from the Hornets. Sacramento State had a seemingly good attempt on goal in the 52nd minute, but a diving play by GCU junior midfielder Cruzeiro Cruz thwarted away the attack with his body.
Both teams combined for seven cards on the night, most notably a straight red card given to Sacramento State for unsporting behavior in the 54th minute. GCU held a man advantage the rest of the way.
Both sides had back-to-back sequences of chances to score soon after that. GCU senior forward Sabri Hanni’s shot was saved in the 57th minutes and junior midfielder Raul Vazquez’s right-side post attempt was also stopped a minute later. The Hornets’ best looks at goal came minutes later with both long, deep strikes on net that were saved by Fernandez.
Last-minute efforts from Sacramento State were halted in the final 90 seconds. Recording two of its match’s three corner kicks in the 89th and 90th minute, both attempts were cleared away and punched out by Fernandez.
GCU outshot the Hornets 10-7 – its second straight match outshooting its opposition – and finished with five shots on goal and six corners.
The Lopes (1-1) return home for the first of five consecutive matches at GCU Stadium, staring with a Friday night home opener against UC Riverside. Kick-off is at 7 p.m. on MW+.