Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer

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.

Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer
Founded	1985; 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
Colors	Purple, black, and white[1]
Home Away
NCAA Tournament appearances
2018, 2020, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
2018
Conference Regular Season championships
2020, 2021

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]

Season	Round	Opponent	Score
2018	First round	UC Irvine	1–1 (lost in (p))
2020	First round	Washington	0–2
2021	Second 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.

Coaching history

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

Years	Coach	Overall					Conference
		GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GP	W	L	T	Pct.
1985–92	Peter Duah	140	86	44	10	.650
1993–2014	Petar Draksin	437	225	171	41	.562
2015–20	Schellas Hyndman	103	45	49	9	.481	58	25	26	7	.491
2021	Leonard Griffin	20	15	4	1	.775	11	9	2	0	.818
2022–23	Mike Kraus	35	14	15	6	.486	17	6	7	4	.471
2024–present	George Kiefer	18	5	10	3	.361	9	2	6	1	.278
Totals		748	390	293	70	.564	310	173	111	26	.600

Last updated: June 17, 2025

Notable alumni

• Matheau Hall, professional soccer player
• Niki Jackson, Colorado Rapids and 2018 MLS SuperDraft pick
• Hector Montalvo, Tigres UANL
• Saeed Robinson, Colorado Springs Switchbacks
• Amer Sasivarevic, OKC Energy FC and 2018 MLS SuperDraft pick (program's first MLS SuperDraft pick)
• Evan Waldrep, Phoenix Rising FC
• Esai Easley, Sporting Kansas City and 2022 MLS SuperDraft pick
• Justin Rasmussen, Portland Timbers and 2022 MLS SuperDraft pick