WAC play starts on road


Grand Canyon Lopes (1-8-1)	vs	New Mexico State Aggies (1-7-2)	UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (6-3-1)
		Friday, Oct. 4 3 p.m. (Phoenix time)	Sunday, Oct. 6 1 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Match Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

The Grand Canyon women's soccer team will kick off WAC play on the road this weekend, traveling to New Mexico State on Friday and UT Rio Grande Valley on Sunday.

The Lopes wrapped up the nonconference schedule last week, falling 1-0 at Omaha on Sept. 27. Despite giving up a goal in the 44th minute, the Lopes came out strong in the second half and outshot the Mavericks 11-6.

Both matches can be watched live on the WAC Digital Network.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

PLAYING UP: Junior defender Hannah Edwards has been the Lopes' most consistent defender all season, playing every minute of every game this season. Against Omaha, Edwards showed off her offensive game by recording three shots and two on goal with the best scoring chance of the night coming in the 80th minute. Only a great save by the Omaha goalkeeper kept Edwards and the Lopes off the board.
FIRST-YEAR COMPETITOR: Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Garthwaite continues to impress during her first collegiate season. The native of Riverside, California, ranks fourth in the WAC in saves with 47. That mark places her in a tie for the 12th most saves by a freshman goalie in the NCAA. Also, her 923 minutes is the ninth most in the country by a freshman goalie.
SECOND SEASON BEGINS: After two straight WAC matches on the road, the Lopes will host the top two conference preseason favorites, Kansas City and Seattle U, in back-to-back weeks. October's schedule will wrap up with games at California Baptist, against Chicago State at home and at Utah Valley in six days. The regular season ends with a home game against CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 2.

SCOUTING

New Mexico State enters WAC play on a five-match losing streak while it searches for its first win at home. The Aggies' lone win of 2019 came in a 2-1 neutral-site match against Idaho State on Sept. 1. The Aggies also will host California Baptist at home on Sunday.

Junior Shea O' Connor is in her first season with the Aggies after transferring from Oregon State. O' Connor leads the Aggies with three goals and seven points. Xitaly Hernandez leads the team with two assists in only five games this season. As a team, the Aggies rank eighth in the WAC in shots (106) and goals against average (2.16).

GCU and New Mexico State met at GCU Stadium last year with the Lopes winning 1-0. Byrlee Hawkins scored the game-winning goal in the 26th minute while goalkeeper Abby Burton made eight saves.

UT Rio Grande Valley enters WAC play with the third-best record at 6-3-1. The Vaqueros have played seven of their 10 games at home. Their 18 goals is good for second most in the WAC. UTRGV will travel to Kansas City on Oct. 4 before hosting the Lopes.

Emily Zapata and Sarah Bonney lead the Vaqueros with four goals and nine points each. Zapata has taken a team-high 28 shots.

Goalkeeper Kinga Szemik has allowed 11 goals, the fourth most in the WAC. Her .732 save percentage is ranked seventh in the conference.

UTRGV defeated GCU on the road last season 3-0. Zapata scored a pair of goals in the 13th and 82nd minutes.

LAST TIME OUT

The Lopes lost at Omaha 1-0.
Junior Hannah Edwards led the Lopes offense with three shots and two on goal.
GCU has allowed one goal or no goals in four of its 10 games.

WHAT'S NEXT

GCU will host Kansas City on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. in the annual Pink Out game.

For more GCU women's soccer news, notes and numbers, click here to view the match notes.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

LAST TIME OUT

WHAT'S NEXT

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Abby Burton

Hannah Edwards

Lauren Garthwaite

Grand Canyon University Athletics