PHOENIX – In the Valley of the Sun where the temperature stayed in the 90s for the duration of the match, Nelson Gomez Rodriguez tallied two goals to lead Grand Canyon past Santa Clara men's soccer 4-0 on Monday evening at GCU Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• In the final game of a five-game homestand for Grand Canyon (4-1), Gomez Rodriguez came off the bench to score in the 42nd and 50th minute.  They were the first two goals of the season for the senior forward as the Lopes finished 4-1 on the homestand.
• Gomez Rodriguez broke a scoreless game when he slotted the ball low to the far post on assists from Junior Diouf and Felipe Cobian.  
• In the opening half, the Lopes had 60 percent of the possession and outshot the Broncos 8-3 to take a one goal lead into the half.  They also had a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks. 
• The Lopes continued their strong play in the second half scoring three goals, starting with one from Michael Watkins less than minute after intermission to double their lead.  It was his first goal of the year.   
• Gomez Rodriguez added his second goal four minutes later to make it 3-0 in favor of the Lopes.
• Diouf closed out the scoring with a penalty kick in the final minute for the final margin of 4-0.  
• Santa Clara (2-2-2) was unable to unlock the Grand Canyon defense and finished their third straight road game with a 2-1 record.   

NOTABLE NUMBERS / GAME NOTES: 

• Santa Clara now trails the series 1-2-1. 
• A total of 23 Broncos saw action including sophomore goalkeeper Carter Tseu making his Bronco debut.

POST-GAME COMMENTS:

Head Coach Cam Rast's thoughts on the game:
"I thought early on in the match, we kinda got after it and we battled.  We maintained possession but 30 minutes in, we started to struggle and it became a bit of a challenge.  We dodged a bullet earlier in the half but unfortunately conceded one late in the half and that changed the game.  Grand Canyon managed the ball and came after it so we shifted our lineup after intermission but that didn't work as we conceded another goal right at the start of the second half.  They have a couple of really athletic players who can dribble and unlock things and that was a bit of a challenge.  We tried a couple of other looks and battled some but we weren't sharp tonight and couldn't get on our front foot.  We gave up a little too much away and it led to multiple chances for them.  GCU played to their strengths.  We dealt with the elements as well as they did but overall we just needed to be better and stronger.  We'll evaluate what worked well and try to build on that.  It was not a good performance for us."

NEXT UP:

• Santa Clara returns home to host UNLV on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. PT.  To purchase tickets, click here.

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