Lopes sweep weekend, defeat Northern Colorado 1-0

Sunday, September 4

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Northern Colorado

9/4/2016 9:13:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Jake Hernandez

Phoenix – The Grand Canyon women's soccer team defeated Northern Colorado, 1-0, on Sunday night. The Lopes outshot the Bears 18-to-5, including eight shots on goal. Junior Milla Benedetti scored her second goal of the season to lead the Lopes to their second straight victory, improving their season record to 2-4-0.

How it Happened:
While the match remained scoreless for the first 73 minutes, the Lopes out-shot the Bears 15-to-5 until GCU forward Benedetti scored her second goal of the season. Assisted by Anyssa DeVera, Benedetti was able to find the back of the net to break the scoreless match and give the Lopes a 1-0 advantage at the 74th minute.

GCU started the match aggressive, out shooting UNC 6-to-3, with three shots on goal. Without getting to the back of the net, the match remained scoreless in the first half. The Lopes defense continued to dominate, keeping opposing teams scoreless for two straight games.

In the second half, the Lopes continued the pressure as they took 12 shots. GCU finally found the back of the net off a Benedetti goal. While UNC fired off a late round of shots in the half, the GCU defense never succumed and capped off the weeekend with a 1-0 victory.

Lopes Notes:

The Lopes outshot the Bears 18-to-5.
GCU's 18 shots tie the season high done just two days prior during GCU's 5-0 victory on Friday, Sep. 2.
GCU has shutout opponents for two straight contests
The Lopes have outscored opponents 9-to-8 on the season.
Milla Benedetti scored her second goal of the season and lead the squad with eight shots and three shots on goal.
Blakely Fraasch had one save on the night.
The Lopes were perfect on the weekend for the first time this season.

Lopes Quotes

Head coach Derek Leader:
"Tonight we faced what I think was our toughest opponent this year and the ladies handled themselves extremely well. We did a great job of shutting down their attack and we were able to create lots of chances on our end. All in all, a great weekend."

Up Next:

GCU will travel to compete in the NAU Mountain Classis in Flagstaff, Ariz. for the third straight year from Friday, Sept. 9 to Sunday, Sep. 11. The Lopes will kick off the tournament against New Mexico on Friday, Sep. 9 at 4 p.m. MST before closing out the weekend against Illinois Chicago Sunday, Sep. 11. at 11 a.m. MST.