The Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team matched its deepest postseason run in program history, falling 2-0 to Grand View University (Iowa) on Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the NAIA national tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama.

The Grizzlies concluded the season with a 13-3-4 record.

"I am proud of the team and the season we had. We just didn't want it to end today," said Head Coach. Steve DeCou after the program's third quarterfinal round appearance.

The Vikings (16-4-3) scored two goals in the final six minutes to advance to their first semifinal since 2016.

GGC came out strong in the opening half, with two consecutive shots by freshman Ousmane Fall going just wide of the opposing goal 35 seconds apart in the 12th minute of the match.

Freshman Luka Colic registered a shot during the 24th minute as the team held a 4-2 shot advantage in the first half.

"I thought we had a good game plan and we were all over them for the first 20 minutes. We just didn't take advantage of those chances and that gave (Grand View) some belief," said DeCou.

Grand View's offense picked up the pace early in the second half, with the team having four shots and two corner kicks in the opening 17 minutes of the period.

Fall had another scoring opportunity saved by goalkeeper Luis Helm in the 65th minute, marking the first shot on goal by either team in the match.

The Vikings got on the scoreboard in the 85th minute as a corner kick resulted in a scramble for control of a loose ball in front of the GGC goal. Justin Figaroa found the back of the net for the elusive first tally of the match.

Pietro Piacenza added an insurance goal on a counterattack during the 88th minute that secured the victory.

Grand View outshot GGC by a 13-8 margin, including an 11-4 edge during the second half. Sophomore Alejandro Contrera and Fall each attempted three shots for the Grizzlies.

GGC has advanced to the quarterfinal three times in program history, and this year was the first quarterfinal appearance since the 2022 season.
 
Coach's Corner
"(Grand View) capitalized off a corner kick, which they are very good at. The ball bounced their way today. That's tournament soccer," said Head Coach Steve DeCou.
 
Turning Point 
Both teams had strong defensive efforts. Grand View capitalized off a corner kick in the 85th minute to break a scoreless deadlock. The Vikings added another goal a few minutes later on a counterattack as the Grizzlies were pushing for an equalizing goal.
 
Goals
85' – Justin Figaroa, GVU (Braden Schoene)
88' – Pietro Piacenza, GVU (Tim Schoorlemmer)
 
Inside The Numbers

• Grand View outshot GGC by a 13-8 margin, including an 11-4 edge during the second half
• Sophomore Alejandro Contrera and freshman Ousmane Fall each attempted three shots in the match
• The Grizzlies had four corner kicks across 90 minutes of action
• Nineteen different GGC players appeared in the contest

News & Notes 

• Georgia Gwinnett concluded the 2025 season with a 13-3-4 record; Grand View improves to 16-4-3 this fall
• GGC was ranked No. 12 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll; Grand View stood No. 16 in the same poll
• Thursday marked the first match between the two colleges
• Georgia Gwinnett College matched its deepest postseason run in program history with its third NAIA tournament quarterfinal appearance, and first since the 2022 season