This Week In WAC Men's Soccer - Sept. 7
This Week In WAC Men's Soccer - Sept. 7
CALIFORNIA BAPTIST STANDS ALONE AT 3-1
On the strength of a two-match winning streak, California Baptist climbed into the top spot in the WAC standings with a 3-1-0 record as of Sept. 7. The Lancers defeated Gonzaga 3-1 and San Diego 2-0 in home contests last week. Grand Canyon (2-2-0), Houston Baptist (1-1-2) and Utah Valley (1-1-1) were among a pack of teams at an even .500.
GCU WINS A WILD 3-2 DECISION OVER NO. 4 UCLA
GCU became the second team from the WAC to take down a top-five national foe in the early going of the 2022 campaign, as two goals in the second half lifted the Lopes past No. 4 UCLA 3-2 on Sept. 5 in Los Angeles. It was the highest ranked win over an opponent in GCU program history, and its first against a national top-10 foe since 2018. Alec LaBarge opened the scoring for GCU in the 23rd minute and capped the brace with the match-winner in the 80th minute. Shaun Joash had the primary assist on both LaBarge goals.
BIG OFFENSIVE WEEK FOR ILIOHAN POWERS CBU
CBU senior forward Bryan Iliohan was the catalyst for the Lancer offense in a pair of victories last weekend that improved the side to a perfect 3-0-0 in home matches. Iliohan led the WAC with five points over the course of two starts, scoring twice including the match-winner at 21:40 in a 3-1 win over Gonzaga (Sept. 1) before distributing the primary assist on the winning goal of a 2-0 decision with San Diego (Sept. 5). Iliohan is tied for the conference lead with six points thus far this season as of Sept. 7, alongside teammate Luis Mueller and GCU’s Shaun Joash.
HOUSTON BAPTIST JUMPS INTO THE WIN COLUMN WITH WIN AT CAL POLY
Houston Baptist secured its first win of the 2022 season with a 4-2 performance at Cal Poly on Sept. 5, leveling the season record for the Huskies at 1-1-2. Ethan Giwa-McNeil capped a wild first half with an unassisted goal at 34:54 to give HBU a 3-2 lead at halftime. Giwa-McNeil put the match away for good with a successful penalty at 58:10 to provide the Huskies with the winning score line.
AIR FORCE TANGLES WITH NO. 3 WASHINGTON
The challenging early season schedule for Air Force rolls on, as the Falcons travel to No. 3 Washington for a 3 p.m. PT kickoff on Sept. 11. Washington will be the fourth ranked foe that Air Force has faced in its first five matches. The Falcons were on the wrong end of hard-luck 2-1 defeats to No. 24 North Carolina (Aug. 25) and No. 15 Wake Forest (Aug. 28) and drew 0-0 with No. 25 Missouri State (Sept. 2).