The Grand Canyon women's soccer team will make its third straight appearance in the WAC Tournament when it faces Kansas City on Wednesday night at Seattle U. The Lopes own a 1-2 record in the WAC Tournament.
The sixth-seeded Lopes are entering the tournament off a 1-0 loss to CSU Bakersfield at home. GCU defeated Kansas City 2-0 on Oct. 20, thanks to goals from redshirt freshman Dani Babb and junior Camryn Larson.
Wednesday's game can be watched on the ESPN+.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
- HAT TRICK: Redshirt freshman forward Dani Babb recorded a hat trick in a 5-0 win at home against Chicago State, the first since Deseree Doty scored five goals against Chicago State in 2015. Forward Camryn Larson added the two other goals in the Lopes' win.
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- OCTOBER SUCCESS: Entering October, GCU wrapped up a tough nonconference schedule with a 1-8-1 record and four goals scored. In October, the Lopes flipped the script starting with a 2-1 win at New Mexico State. They followed that up with a 2-0 win over perennial WAC favorite Kansas City and a 5-0 win against Chicago State to clinch their third straight WAC Tournament appearance.
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- TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE: The Lopes are entering their third straight conference tournament and own a 1-2 record in previous appearances. The Lopes started postseason play with a 2-1 overtime upset of No. 3 seed UT Rio Grande Valley in 2017 at GCU Stadium. McKenzie Cook provided the two goals with the game-winner coming in the 94th minute. GCU has been eliminated the last two seasons by Utah Valley.
SCOUTING
Kansas City is making its seventh straight appearance in the WAC Tournament, reaching the No. 4 seed this season. The Roos haved turned things around after a 0-2-2 start to WAC play, ending the season on a four-match win streak.Â
The Roos reached the 12-win mark for the third straight season while having the fewest losses to the end the regular season with three.
Sophomore Rylan Childers already has set the Kansas City career assist record with 23. She led the Roos with 10 goals, nine assists and 29 points this season. Childers' nine assists were tied for the WAC lead while she was one behind California Baptist's Rola Badawiya in goals.Â
Defensively, the Roos are led by Erin Roth, who allowed 13 goals in the 15 matches that she started. Her .780 save percentage is the second highest in the WAC while her 46 saves are the eighth most.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Lopes lost 1-0 to CSU Bakersfield at home.
- With the win, the Roadrunners clinched the No. 4 seed in the WAC Tournament while the Lopes earned the No. 6 seed.
- GCU outshot CSUB 15-11, led by Camryn Larson and Perri Belzer with three shots apiece.
WHAT'S NEXT
- With a win over Kansas City on Wednesday, the Lopes would face No. 2 Utah Valley on Friday at 8 p.m. (Phoenix time).
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For more GCU women's soccer news, notes and numbers, click here to view the match notes.
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