Lopes end road swing on high note, rout Chicago State 9-0

Sunday, October 16

Chicago, Ill.

11:00 a.m.

Grand Canyon

6-8-1, 2-1-1WAC

Chicago State

1-13, 0-4WAC

Grand Canyon

Chicago State

Lopes end road swing on high note, rout Chicago State 9-0

10/16/2016 3:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Imani Suber

CHICAGO -- The Grand Canyon women's soccer team dominated Chicago State in its 9-0 shutout victory Sunday afternoon. GCU now sits at 2-1-1 in WAC play and 6-8-1 on the season. The Lopes collected their fifth shutout of the season and garnered their largest margin of victory thus far.

The Lopes stifling defense held the Cougars to just four shots, while the offense was on fire as they produced a season high 40 shots. Anyssa De Vera, McKenzie Cook and Milla Benedetti netted two goals apiece, while Kelsey Smith and Kathryn Yancone collected their first goals of the season and Maria Monterroso found the back of the net for the second straight week.

How it Happened:
The Lopes opened the scoring in the seventh minute on a Smith tally. Smith netted her first goal of the season after she eluded the Cougar defenders to get an open shot and blasted the ball past the goalkeeper. GCU's smothering defense helped produce a penalty kick opportunity for its offense. De Vera notched her second goal off a penalty kick this season and extended the lead to 2-0. Just three minutes later, Cook received a strong cross feed from Monterroso to find the back of the net and collect her fourth goal of the year and improve the score to 4-0.

The Lopes offense stayed on attack as De Vera netted her second goal of the half in the 35th minute to give the Lopes a 5-0 advantage. Monterroso then found the back of the net for the second straight week in the 37th minute to put the Lopes up 5-0 heading into the half.

In the second half, the Lopes offense exploded as Cook snagged her second goal of the day. She took a strong feed from Yancone and beat the Cougars' keeper in a one-one-one matchup in the 50th minute to extend the lead to 6-0. Yancone then got a piece of the ball herself and scored in the 66th minute to pick up her first goal of her senior campaign and put GCU up by seven.

The Lopes continued to rattle off their 24 shots of the half and in the 80th minute Benedetti scored and continued GCU's impressive day. Five minutes later, Benedetti put the cherry on top with another goal off a perfect service from teammate Madison Wisely. Benedetti's back-to-back goals solidified GCU's 9-0 shutout in Chicago.

Lopes Quotes:
"It's great to finish a road trip on a high note. Friday was very tough and we picked up a few injuries. The team as a whole took a huge step forward today with lots of players stepping up and playing big minutes. I'm proud of our efforts as it puts us in a great spot in the WAC. We look forward to returning home."

Up Next:
The Lopes return home for their final pair of home matches of the 2016 season. GCU will host conference rival New Mexico State on Friday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. MST.

GCU will then welcome UTRGV on Sunday, Oct. 21 in their home finale and will honor its seniors with a Senior Recognition Day Ceremony. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. MST.