PHOENIX, Ariz. – In its first overtime match of the season, Utah Valley University fell on a golden goal from Grand Canyon University in the 100th minute of the match.
On a corner kick with less than a minute to play in the first overtime, the Lopes (7-8-0, 4-4-0) got the game-winner from Jackson Jellah when he flicked a ball from Justin Rasmussen and it lofted into the back of the net. It's the second overtime winner for GCU over the Wolverines (9-7-0, 6-3-0) in as many seasons.
"To lose a match in overtime after you hit the woodwork three times, had multiple other near misses, it's never easy to accept," UVU head coach
Greg Maas said. "This team knows how to respond and compete, and looking forward, those bounces will start to fall our way. There's still plenty to learn from this match, and it's going to help us in our preparation for our next two matches and the pending WAC Tournament."
Both teams scored in the first half with Grand Canyon getting a goal from Josh Drack, on assists from Marco Afonso and Calvin Kissi, in the 23rd minute. Drack's shot hit off the right post and ricocheted into the left-side netting for the 1-0 lead.
The Wolverines got the equalizer less than three minutes later when
Alec Felix left a ball for
Zach Maas, who delivered a deep ball into the box for
Blake Frischknecht. Frischknecht beat the defender and after his first touch allowed him to get by the goalkeeper, he calmly tied the match with his left foot and team-high sixth goal of the season. The assist for Maas gives him a team-leading five on the season.
Both teams had several near-go-ahead goals in regulation, many of which clanged off the crossbar, off the post or off the fingertips of the opposing keeper.
An extremely even match statistically, Grand Canyon had 17 shots to 15 from UVU with the Lopes on goal eight times to seven for the Wolverines. There were 43 fouls whistled in the match, 22 against Grand Canyon and 21 on Utah Valley.
The Wolverines still remain tied for second after UT Rio Grande Valley lost by the same 2-1 score at Seattle U. By virtue of its 5-2 win at UNLV, Air Force has secured at least a share of its second straight WAC regular season title. Utah Valley will be at UNLV on Sunday with a 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT start.
