Courtesy of Grand Canyon Athletics/Nick Macdonald


SAN JOSE, Calif. – In its first Mountain West season, Grand Canyon men's soccer made history Wednesday night in San José.

With a 3-2 win at San José State, GCU clinched the Mountain West regular-season title, its third conference championship in the program's Division I era (since 2013) and 10th overall in program history.

"The staff couldn't be more proud of this group tonight and the achievement of being regular-season champions," Lopes first-year head coach Jamie Davies said. "This is the reward of the body of work they have put in up to this point. We still have two more conference games left to keep building on what we are doing and prepare for tournament football."

The win put GCU at 22 points in the Mountain West standings, securing home-field advantage thoughout the Nov. 10-14 Mountain West Championship at GCU Stadium.

The Lopes' record moves to 10-5-1 overall and 7-0-1 in conference play. It's the second consecutive season with a double-digit win total, while the seven conference wins are tied for second most in a GCU single season in its D-I era.

Now with a nine-match unbeaten streak, the Lopes' offense took little time gaining a lead. Two minutes and 17 seconds into the first half, freshman midfielder João Gonçalinho sent a ball to the near post on the squad's first corner kick. Classmate Arnau Camaño used all of his 6-foot-2 frame and connected with a header toward the inside of the left post, sneaking in the first goal of the contest.

Fewer than 20 minutes later, the freshman from Spain did it again. GCU freshman Bradley De Jesus sent a shot that was deflected by =goalkeeper Ronin Axelson. A Spartan defender attempted to clear the ball off the line, only for Camaño to rebound it off his knee and into the net.

The goal was Camaño's ninth of the season and second brace.

The two goals were vital for a match that saw 26 total shots, 12 from the San José State side. Fifth-year goalkeeper Beltran Fernandez, who is 9-3-1 for GCU, made a pair of critical saves in the first half. Fernandez dived to his left on a trickling ball toward the left post and stopped a fast-paced shot directly in the middle of the net minutes after the Lopes' second goal.

GCU entered the half leading 2-0 with five shots and two corner kicks.

The Spartans (6-7-3, 3-3-2 MW) cut that lead in half early in the second half, connecting from just inside the box. The goals began to flurry for both sides as GCU answered via senior Sabri Hanni, who took a cross from freshman Godson Anim and perfectly placed the ball in the upper left portion of the goal.

Hanni's goal was his second in as many games and the Lopes led 3-1 with 30 minutes to play.

San José State pressured immensely in the closing minutes, eventually finding another goal in the 76th. A hard line drive shot from 25 yards sneaked inside the left post for the match's fifth goal. It was the most combined goals of any Mountain West game this season for GCU and most since a 7-2 win over Oakland on Sept. 3.

GCU's defense held strong in the closing minutes, thwarting opportunities to tie the match. The Lopes totaled 14 shots and 12 shots on goal, tied for second most in the program's D-I era, and extended their streak to 16 games with a double-digit shot total.

The Lopes head back to Phoenix for their final regular-season home contest Sunday versus UC Davis for Senior Night. A Nov. 6 match at Air Force will conclude the regular season and GCU will return home for a semifinal matchup against an opponent to be determined Nov. 10.

Check gculopes.com and GCU men's soccer social media accounts for tickets to the Mountain West Championship at GCU Stadium.