The Grand Canyon University men's soccer team (2-6-1, 0-1-0) opened Western Athletic Conference play with a 3-0 loss at UNLV (7-2-1, 1-0-0) today at Johann Field in Las Vegas, Nev. The score was tied at zero following one half of play, but the Rebels used a scoring barrage in the second half to pull away from the Antelopes.

"We put together a great first half against a very good UNLV team," said head coach Petar Draksin. "But we didn't do enough in the second half. We got disorganized on the first goal, and that really started the whole thing where we lost the game in five minutes. Otherwise, the first half was incredible. I thought it was the best half we have played all year. Unfortunately, we had a five minute lapse there in the second half and lost our concentration."

"Yared Solscheid worked very hard throughout the entire game," added Draksin. "Alexander Ramirez left everything he had on the field, and Jose Rodriguez Nieblas played his heart out. Those three young men bring it everyday but we have to have all 11 guys playing together and focused."

The Rebels outshot GCU, 17-11, for the game, attempting most of those in the second half (13). Alberto Sanchez Garcia led the offensive effort for the Lopes, putting two of his five shots on target. Jaime Olabarria and Ben Barkoff each added a shot on goal for GCU. UNLV held the narrow advantage in shots on target, 5-4.

Neither team got on the board in the first 45 minutes. GCU held the advantage in shots, 6-4, with half of the Lopes' shots on target as Rebels keeper Ryan Harding made three stops.

The two squads played evenly to open the second half until the Rebels found the back of the net in the 61^st minute to stake the 1-0 lead. UNLV tacked on two more goals over the next five minutes to make it a 3-0 game. The Rebels defense held the Lopes without a shot for over 20 minutes in the second half, although GCU made a push to get on the board late in the half.

UNLV outshot GCU 13-4 over the final 45 minutes as they kept pressure on the Lopes defense for much of the half. Lopes keeper Luca Licciardi finished with two saves in the game.

"I'm very disappointed because we had a strong game plan and we were ready for this game," Draksin said. "I felt that we were going to win, but we needed to stay focused and we didn't do that. We will continue to work and build on these games."

GCU remains on the road for a pair of WAC contests, beginning with a 4 p.m. (Arizona time) matchup at Utah Valley on Friday. The Lopes then travel to Seattle U for a 1:30 p.m. game on Sunday. Fans can follow the action by visiting www.gculopes.com.

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