By Jonathan Guzman — Reporter
San Jose State (10-6-3, 7-2-2 WAC) saw their season end in a 4-1 defeat to Grand Canyon University(14-3, 9-2 WAC) in the WAC semifinals on Friday at GCU Stadium.
Head coach Simon Tobin was not seen on the sidelines for the Spartans for an unknown reason. Assistant coach Jesus Sanchez took over interim head coaching duties.
The match started out even for both teams as the first half ended scoreless in the first half.
But the Spartans had the edge with three shots on goal compared to the Lopes’ zero. GCU senior goalkeeper Anthony Munoz captured all three saves.
Spartans’ senior midfielder Willy Miranda had three shot attempts with one shot on goal that sailed just over the goal post.
The Lopes started the second half hot as it had an early shot on goal and constant pressure on the Spartans’ defense.
The match began to get chippy as Spartan junior defender Josh Redfield fouled Lopes senior midfielder Marios Andreou.
GCU junior forward Shaun-Chris Joash scored the first goal of the match in the 55th minute.
Less than a minute later, SJSU had an opportunity to score but wasn’t able to capitalize due to the defensive pressure of GCU.
SJSU senior forward Rudi Castro had a shot on goal that hit the left goalpost that would have tied the match in the 60th minute.
The Lopes added to their lead with a goal by senior forward Rey Gaytan in the 74th minute.
But the Spartans came knocking as they cut the lead back down to one with a goal by Castro off an assist from Rudi Castro.
GCU sealed the victory with a goal from junior forward Cameron Weller in the 82nd minute of the match. The Lopes would later add another goal by senior midfielder Justin Rasmussen in the 87th minute.
With this loss, the Spartans are eliminated from the WAC Championship.
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