Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer

Last updated

Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer
Grand Canyon University 2023 Logo Update.svg
Founded1985;40 years ago (1985)
University Grand Canyon University
Head coach George Kiefer (1st season)
Conference WAC
Location Phoenix, Arizona
Stadium GCU Stadium
(Capacity: 6,000)
Nickname Antelopes
ColorsPurple, black, and white [1]
     
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Home
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Away
NCAA Tournament appearances
2018, 2020, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
2018
Conference Regular Season championships
2020, 2021

The Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer program represents Grand Canyon University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. Founded in 1985, the Antelopes have competed in the Western Athletic Conference since 2013. GCU plays its home matches at GCU Stadium.

Contents

When the athletic department joined the Mountain West Conference in most sports, the school announced that the men's soccer program would remain in the WAC as an affiliate member. [2]

NCAA Tournament history

After transitioning from NCAA Division II to Division I, GCU was eligible for the Division I postseason for the first time in 2017. The Lopes qualified for the NCAA Tournament in just their second season of Division I eligibility, winning the Western Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament in 2018 behind three consecutive 1–0 shutout victories. [3]

Grand Canyon qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times at the Division II level, highlighted by a Division II National Championship in 1996. [4]

SeasonRoundOpponentScore
2018First round UC Irvine 1–1 (lost in ( p ))
2020First round Washington 0–2
2021Second round Denver 0–1

Facility history

The Lopes played at GCU Soccer Field up until the construction of GCU Stadium. GCU played its inaugural season in the new facility in 2016. Since the opening of the facility, GCU has ranked in the top 10 in average attendance per match in 2016 and 2018, getting significant fan support from the university's student section, the Havocs.

GCU Stadium hosted its first game on August 26, 2016, when GCU defeated UCF 4–2. The crowd of 6,402 fans was the ninth-largest crowd in the 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. [5]

GCU hosted the fourth-largest crowd of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season when it opened the season by defeating Wisconsin 2–1 in front of 6,648 fans. [6]

Notable seasons

2018

The 2018 team qualified for the program's first ever NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament by going 3–0 in the WAC Tournament.

GCU finished as the nation's most improved defense, ranking 181st nationally in goals against average in 2017 before jumping to 25th in 2018.

The Lopes finished the season 5–0 against top-25 opponents, defeating No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 20 Creighton, No. 25 Seattle U, and Air Force twice, once as No. 8 and once as No. 13. [7]

1996

Grand Canyon won the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship by defeating Seattle Pacific, Lynn and Oakland.

Seasons

SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Peter Duah(NAIA)(1985–1991)
1985Peter Duah 3–7–1
1986Peter Duah 8–6–1
1987Peter Duah 12–2–0
1988Peter Duah 10–7–2
1989Peter Duah 12–5–2
1990Peter Duah 12–7–2
1991Peter Duah 13–6–1
Peter Duah(NCAA Division II Independent)(1992)
1992Peter Duah 16–4–1 NCAA Division II First Round
Peter Duah:86–44–10
Petar Draksin(NCAA Division II Independent)(1993)
1993Petar Draksin 4–13–2
Petar Draksin(California Collegiate Athletic Association)(1994–2003)
1994Petar Draksin 4–13–26–4–03rd
1995Petar Draksin 14–4–37–3–02nd NCAA Division II Quarterfinals
1996Petar Draksin 12–4–55–2–31st NCAA Division II Champions
1997Petar Draksin 7–12–12–8–05th
1998Petar Draksin 17–6–110–4–1T–2nd (South) NCAA Division II Quarterfinals
1999Petar Draksin 17–4–012–3–01st (South)
2000Petar Draksin 11–7–39–4–12nd (South)
2001Petar Draksin 13–8–011–3–01st (South)
2002Petar Draksin 5–15–02–12–04th (South)
2003Petar Draksin 4–12–13–11–04th (South)
Petar Draksin(NCAA Division II Independent)(2004–2005)
2004Petar Draksin 3–15–1
2005Petar Draksin 9–8–2
Petar Draksin(Pacific West Conference)(2006–2012)
2006Petar Draksin 14–6–09–1–01st
2007Petar Draksin 11–5–58–0–2T–1st NCAA Division II First round
2008Petar Draksin 8–7–47–3–23rd
2009Petar Draksin 14–3–39–1–21st
2010Petar Draksin 14–2–212–1–11st
2011Petar Draksin 13–4–19–2–13rd
2012Petar Draksin 16–3–112–1–11st NCAA Division II Third round
Petar Draksin(Western Athletic Conference)(2013–2014)
2013Petar Draksin 4–14–12–8–08th
2014Petar Draksin 5–12–32–6–29th
Petar Draksin:225–171–41137–77–16
Schellas Hyndman (Western Athletic Conference)(2015–2020)
2015Schellas Hyndman 7–10–03–7–010th
2016Schellas Hyndman 7–9–34–3–35th
2017Schellas Hyndman 7–11–14–5–1T–6th
2018Schellas Hyndman 12–8–16–4–0T–4th NCAA First round
2019Schellas Hyndman 4–9–41–7–311th
2020Schellas Hyndman 8–2–07–0–01st NCAA Second round
Schellas Hyndman:45–49–925–26–7
Leonard Griffin (Western Athletic Conference)(2021)
2021Leonard Griffin 15–4–111–9–01st NCAA First round
Leonard Griffin:15–4–19–2–0
Mike Kraus (Western Athletic Conference)(2022–2023)
2022Mike Kraus 7–8–34–3–2T–5th
2023Mike Kraus 7–7–32–4–27th
Mike Kraus:14–15–66–7–4
George Kiefer (Western Athletic Conference)(2024–present)
2024George Kiefer 5–10–32–6–19th
George Kiefer:5–10–32–6–1
Total:390–293–70 (.564)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Coaching history

GCU has had six head coaches in its program history. [8]

YearsCoachOverallConference
GPWLTPct.GPWLTPct.
1985–92Peter Duah140864410.650
1993–2014Petar Draksin43722517141.562
2015–20 Schellas Hyndman 10345499.4815825267.491
2021 Leonard Griffin 201541.77511920.818
2022–23 Mike Kraus 3514156.48617674.471
2024–present George Kiefer 185103.3619261.278
Totals74839029370.56431017311126.600

Last updated: June 17, 2025

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Grand Canyon University Athletic Brand Standards". September 20, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  2. ↑ "GCU to play in WAC as men's soccer affiliate". Grand Canyon University Athletics. December 6, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  3. ↑ Going Dancing: GCU men's soccer team makes history
  4. ↑ NCAA Division II Men's Soccer History
  5. ↑ 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Attendance Record Book
  6. ↑ 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer largest single-game crowds
  7. ↑ Season of bests, firsts
  8. ↑ GCU Men's Soccer Coaching History
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