Lopes host Houston Baptist, NAU

After a tough two-game road trip last weekend, the Grand Canyon women's soccer team returns home for its first two matches at GCU Stadium this season.

The Lopes (0-2-0) will host Houston Baptist on Friday at 4 p.m. and Northern Arizona on Sunday at 7 p.m. Admission to all GCU women's soccer games is free.

Despite back-to-back overtime setbacks for the first time since 2009, the Lopes can look to their defense, which played well despite the losses. Senior goalkeeper Abby Burton was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week after tallying 22 combined saves in two matches. Her 15 saves against No. 21 Washington State tied a GCU Division I record and were the most saves of any Lopes keeper since 2015.

Houston Baptist (1-0) opened the 2018 season at home with a 3-1 win over in-town rival Houston. The Huskies were led by sophomore Avery Cortez, who scored the first two goals of her collegiate career. Last season, Houston Baptist finished 7-7-3 and was fifth in the Southland Conference. The Lopes and Huskies faced each other a year ago on the road, where Houston Baptist won 2-0.

NAU (1-1) split its opening matches of the season, losing 2-0 to Portland and winning 2-0 at Cal State Northridge. The Lumberjacks only had one shot against Portland but rebounded with four shots on goal in their win against the Matadors. NAU will host New Mexico State in its home opener before traveling to GCU Stadium on Sunday. Last season, NAU finished 9-10-1 and defeated GCU at home 1-0 in Flagstaff last August.

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Players Mentioned

Abby Burton

Grand Canyon University Athletics