Lopes soar, clinch tournament berth on Senior Day

Friday, October 27

Phoenix, Ariz.

4:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-12-2, 2-4-1WAC

CSU Bakersfield

6-12-1, 1-5-1WAC

Team	1	2	Final F
CSU Bakersfield	0	0	0
Grand Canyon	1	2	3

10/27/2017 6:24:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Fraasch earns fourth shutout

By: Sarah Woodward

PHOENIX, Ariz. – A night not short of scoring and the Lopes with more than enough to celebrate – the Grand Canyon women's soccer team clinched its spot in the 2017 Western Athletic Conference tournament with a 3-0 shutout victory over CSU Bakersfield on Friday afternoon at GCU Soccer Stadium. The Lopes become the first team at Grand Canyon to secure a spot in a postseason tournament since the Lopes transitioned to Division I. GCU will host the tournament beginning Wednesday, Nov. 1.

The Lopes (5-12-2, 2-4-1 WAC) were put in a win-and-advance situation on Senior Day in Phoenix against the Roadrunners (6-12-1, 1-5-1 WAC) and came through with their fourth shutout victory of the year to continue the 2017 season.

"The play today was big time," head coach Derek Leader said. "The girls really answered the challenge and came up huge on Senior Day.

"It was a must win game and we did what had to be done! Now, we get ready for the conference tournament."

Atop the victorious night, GCU celebrated its 10 graduating players, including Megan Anth, Milla Benedetti, Emma Cain, Madison Cox, Deseree Doty, Blakely Fraasch, Brylee Hawkins, Ashly Hilfer, Rachel Mina and Kelsey Smith.

Benedetti began the action for the Lopes right away with an unassisted goal in the 10th minute, her fourth of the season. With the opposing goalkeeper closing in, she flicked the ball past and slotted it in the back of the net for the lead.

Fellow senior Cain scored the second goal and her first of the season. With an assist from junior McKenzie Cook, Cain was able to get a foot on the ball from the top of the box to find the right corner of the goal.

Sophomore Anyssa De Vera gave the Lopes a 3-0 lead after Anth pulled back to create space for herself and passed it across the top of the 10-yard box. De Vera turned and slammed a shot past the keeper to seal the deal.

The Lopes outshot the 'Runners, 18-6, on the night, while tallying eight looks on frame. Benedetti led the way for GCU with five shots on the night, while De Vera had four.

Cook tallied three and the pair of Cain and Mina had two apiece. Freshman Amanda Lopez and Smith each took one shot.

Senior goalkeeper Fraasch made a pair of impressive saves on the night to seal the shutout.

The Lopes await seeding for the 2017 WAC Tournament following the remainder of the regular season contests around the conference tomorrow afternoon. GCU will face its opponent on Wednesday at GCU Soccer Stadium.