{"id":454513,"date":"2026-09-05T13:06:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T13:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/454513\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T13:06:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T13:06:48","slug":"7-goal-spree-nets-win-sets-gcu-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/454513\/","title":{"rendered":"7-goal spree nets win, sets GCU record"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Welcome Week at Grand Canyon, many of the students who surrounded GCU Stadium’s field Thursday night were freshmen relishing their first GCU Athletics experience.<\/p>\n

The Lopes freshmen on the pitch were showing the crowd of 2,354 fans how quickly newcomers can impact their campus.

\n\"Phoenix,

\nAmong six GCU freshman starters, the frosh pair of Arnau Cama\u00f1o<\/a> and Alhassan Alhassan<\/a> notched their first career goals in Thursday’s first four minutes against Oakland. Cama\u00f1o added a second goal, rolling the Lopes toward a 7-2 victory that set a program record for goals against a Division I opponent.<\/p>\n

Six of the goals were scored by freshmen, adding more revelry to the drum-banging, chant-filled “Platform” on the east sideline and the purple-popping grass berm behind the north goal.<\/p>\n

“When you’ve been lots of different places and seen lots of different venues, you’re just doing the warm-up, and you look behind them at those people coming over and you wish you could transform 30 years before and go be in their shoes,” said GCU head coach Jamie Davies<\/a>, whose first Lopes home win was made memorable. “It’s really exciting, and I’m proud for them. We were just hoping they were going to grab the moment with both hands, and I think they did.”<\/p>\n

The electric scene could have frozen or invigorated a young team, but the Lopes made it work for them and took command after the Havocs barely had crossed campus on the “March to the Match” tradition.<\/p>\n

GCU freshman defender Bradley De Jesus<\/a> thwarted an early threat by blocking an Oakland shot, and momentum swung from there.

\n\"Phoenix,

\nShortly after Cama\u00f1o put a header over the crossbar on a pass from senior midfielder Martin Luala<\/a>, senior midfielder Jorge Lopez<\/a> gave Cama\u00f1o another chance when he zipped a corner kick to the goal’s short side. Cama\u00f1o, a 6-foot-2 Spaniard, laid a low header from the top of the goal box and into the left side of the net for a 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n

“It’s so good to have a big win like this,” Cama\u00f1o said. “We just kept improving, and the goals have come.<\/p>\n

“The environment was amazing. It’s incredible. For us, it was a really good help to see the pitch almost full like this. We’re so grateful.”‘<\/p>\n

With a lead, the Lopes remained as aggressive on the next attack. Lopez pushed tempo through the center of the field and led Alhassan with a pass down the left side. Alhassan caught up to it, gained control, lost a defender with a crossover dribble and connected with his left foot for a sharp-angle goal and 2-0 Lopes lead in the fourth minute.

\n\"Phoenix,

\nAfter being shut out on 23 shots Friday, the Lopes scored twice on five shots in less than four minutes Thursday.<\/p>\n

“That was a good build-up and a good team goal,” said Alhassan, the 5-8 Ghanaian who was unable to control a similar opportunity Friday. “I just had to put this one in the net, so I could a little bit forget about what happened last time.<\/p>\n

“There was a lot of motivation for us to make the crowd happy. I was really excited to see them. That was more than I expected.”<\/p>\n

GCU kept threatening with a beautifully bent pass by De Jesus, another Cama\u00f1o header, a perfectly lofted pass by senior midfielder Sabri Hanni<\/a> and a Hanni shot off the left goalpost that nearly was headed in front of the goal by junior Bildad Abonga<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The consistent pressure broke down Oakland in the 39th minute, when GCU freshman forward Rafael Coet’s<\/a> backfield pressure caused a turnover. Cama\u00f1o gathered the mistake and pivoted for an open 15-yard shot that he netted to the left of the closing goalkeeper.

\n\"Phoenix,

\nWith a 12-3 shot advantage, the Lopes had scored more goals in the first half (three) than in their first three matches combined (two). Most of GCU’s lineup was made up of freshmen, going up against an Oakland unit without a true freshman on the field.<\/p>\n

“There’s a lot of freshmen that have really good experience, so they don’t carry themselves like typical freshmen,” Davies said. “But then you have the period in the second half when we kind of acted like freshmen. We’re going to learn so many lessons. If you can do that while you’re winning, even better.”<\/p>\n

Off a free kick via a GCU foul and a throw-in, Oakland scored in the 52nd and 56th minutes to tighten the Lopes lead to 3-2.<\/p>\n

GCU responded with more vigor, earning a pair of corner kicks and quality scoring chances before a sideline throw-in by junior Alan Hermitte<\/a> set up its fourth goal.

\n\"Phoenix,

\nAn Oakland defender headed the long throw upward, and Lopez connected on its descent for a shot that the Lopes captain blasted past a defender and split the left goalpost and a diving goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

Between ball possession dominance and a strong back-line effort, the Lopes did not allow another shot for the final 34 minutes after the Grizzlies’ second goal.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the GCU goals kept coming with three more scores in the final 17 minutes. That started with another freshman connection that reflected the Lopes’ patient offensive development to build opportunities from the back. Freshman Jo\u00e3o Gon\u00e7alinho<\/a> of Portugal passed to freshman Felix Oberwaditzer<\/a> of Liechtenstein at midfield, where he set up freshman Ife Nkabu<\/a> of Toronto with a defender on his back.<\/p>\n

Nkabu, a 6-4 forward, turned and blew by him before squaring up on the next Grizzly with a shimmy and a shot that beat the diving goaltender for a 5-2 lead.

\n\"Phoenix,

\nFreshman Matas Jokubaitis<\/a>, a 6-5 defender from Edmonton, Alberta, pushed the lead to 6-2 in the 79th minute when a Gon\u00e7alinho entry set up the Lopes’ most selfless play of the night. Abonga kept the ball alive on the goal line, sending it through the goal box. Junior midfielder Damon Rouse<\/a> passed up a good shot from near the far post to give Jokubaitis a great shot for the tap-in goal.<\/p>\n

The record-setting goal came in the 87th minute by the fifth freshman scorer, Michael Abrams<\/a> of Charlotte, North Carolina, off the set-up of Coet. The French freshman split the Oakland defense with his dribble down the middle and passed wide right to Abrams, who launched a high line drive over a crouching goalkeeper for the 7-2 final.<\/p>\n

GCU matched the national season high for goals scored against a Division I opponent.<\/p>\n

“They had a little bit of adversity in the second half, and to come back through that again says a lot about the group,” Davies said. “It was definitely a team performance, and that’s what leads to a lot of goals. That’s what we’ve been talking about. That’s what it takes to win games. You have to play as a team. Hopefully, they see that tonight, and it starts to come out even more in every game.”<\/p>\n

Thursday’s win began a four-match homestand that continues Monday night against Houston Christian. \n<\/p>\n

\"Phoenix,<\/p>\n

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