Lopes dominate Northern Arizona in 5-0 shutout

Friday, September 2

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-4-0

Northern Arizona

1-4-0

NAU

Grand Canyon

9/2/2016 10:41:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Imani Suber

PHOENIX - The Grand Canyon women's soccer team dominated Northern Arizona in a 5-0 shutout in front of 1,503 Lopes fans.

GCU earned its first win of the season as they outshot NAU 18-to-6. The Lopes posted three goals in the first half and capped off the evening with a pair of goals in the second.

How it Happened:
It was an action-packed game from start to finish as GCU dropped in-state rival Northern Arizona in a 5-0 finish.

The Lopes dominated the Lumberjacks in the first half as they rattled off three goals. The first goal of the game came from Anyssa De Vera in the 14th minute followed by the first of two incredible saves during the half by Blakely Fraasch. The NAU defense put up a tough fight but ultimately were unable to keep Rachel Mina from scoring her second goal of the season in the 28th minute, improving the score to 2-0.

Milla Benedetti closed out the half with goal number three with an assist that was set up beautifully by Kelsey Smith. The Lopes smothering defense limited NAU to just two shots on goal in the first half while the Lopes racked up six.

The Lopes continued to capitalize on their momentum in the second half. GCU and the Lumberjacks aggressively battled but Brylee Hawkins sped into the open field off a Mina pass and scored her first goal of the season at the 62nd mark to extend the lead to four.

GCU would not be denied and were relentless scoring their fifth goal after Maria Monterroso put the ball in the back of the net from a Mina assist to cap off the shutout at 5-0.

Benedetti led the Lopes with six shots, three of which were shots on goal and scored her first goal of the season.

Lopes Notes:

The Lopes are now 1-4-0 on the season.
The all-time series now sits at 2-3-0.
The Lopes outshot NAU 18-to-6.
Rachel Mina garnered her second goal of the year and collected two assists.
Anyssa De Vera, Rachel Mina, Milla Benedetti, Brylee Hawkins and Maria Monterroso all scored goals in the 5-0 win.
Blakely Fraasch came up with two saves and garnered her first shutout of the season.
Benedetti led the Lopes with six shots, three shots on goal and scored her first goal of the season.
The 5-0 victory marks the first time the Lopes have defeated an opponent by a five goal margin since joining Division I.
Head coach Derek Leader picked up his first win.

Lopes Quotes
Head Coach Derek Leader
"It's great to get the first win after playing in front of a big crowd with the Havocs present. It means the world to beat our in-state rival. Last year we won in overtime and it shows us what we can do moving forward. The girls need to believe that they can get it done and we saw that confidence tonight."

Up Next:
GCU concludes its three game homestand Sunday, Sept. 4 as they host Northern Colorado. Match time is set for 7 p.m. MST.

Follow @GCU_WSOC for latest updates and news.