The Grand Canyon women's soccer team beat New Mexico State at home for the fourth consecutive time on Friday night, when Lopes senior midfielder
Brylee Hawkins netted a free-kick goal for a 1-0 win at GCU Stadium.
"This win is huge for us," Lopes head coach
Derek Leader said. "It puts us in a much better spot than we were in before the game. New Mexico State played very well. They put a lot more pressure on us than we expected and their numbers up top are quite dangerous.
"I thought our ladies handled it well. Unfortunately, we weren't able to put away a few chances that we had that would've made the game easier for us but, in the end, we got the win so we're pretty excited."
The Lopes (6-12, 3-3 WAC) outshot the Aggies 16-12 while senior goalkeeper
Abby Burton tallied eight saves in an impressive shutout, her fourth of the season.
Hawkins put the Lopes on the board in the 26th minute with a free-kick goal from outside the 18-yard box. The goal is the second of the season for Hawkins.
The Lopes and the Aggies (2-14, 1-5 WAC) battled through the remainder of the regulation game, as the GCU defensive effort held strong for the win.
Senior midfielder
McKenzie Cook led the GCU offense with six shots while sophomore forward
Camryn Larson took four. Six Lopes tallied a shot apiece, including Hawkins,
Mikaela McGee,
Kelsey Smith,
Perri Belzer,
Carlie Bateman and
Sarah Inafuku.
The Lopes return to GCU Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. to host Utah Valley. The team's six seniors -- Burton, Cook, Hawkins, Inafuku and
Jennifer Pippin -- will be honored.