Scoring surge keeps Lopes atop WAC

Saturday, October 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

11-2-1, 4-0-1

New Mexico State

7-7-0, 3-2-0

New Mexico St.

Grand Canyon

10/9/2021 10:49:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU blanks NMSU 6-0, moves to 11-2-1 to continue program upswing

By: Paul Coro

Consistency builds the trust. Trust brings out the talent. Talent wins convincingly.

That has been the sequence of events for building Grand Canyon women's soccer into a program with a six-game unbeaten streak and first-place standing in the WAC West Division. In a Saturday night duel for first place, the Lopes dominated New Mexico State 6-0 at GCU Stadium.

This sort of play took form in the midseason of head coach Chris Cissell's first GCU season earlier this year, but this season's Lopes have emerged as a contender that just gets better. GCU has outscored opponents 22-3 over the past six games to move to 11-2-1 overall and 4-0-1 at the midpoint of WAC play.

The Lopes are 17-3-2 in their past 22 games, dating back to last season's finish, and have outscored opponents 69-18 in that time.

Hannah Edwards goal celebration

"I'm a little speechless," said GCU fifth-year defender Hannah Edwards, whose teams averaged one goal per game in her first three seasons. "I'm just so proud of the team. We make it happen. We work together. I've never been with a team so close.

"I talk to a lot of people at other schools about how we have something unique here, for sure. You can see it on the field. Our relationships with each other transfers to the field. We want to win for each other. We want to work hard for each other and that's where you see it in these 5-0 and 6-0 wins. It's insane, but that's us working together and playing for each other."

Edwards heads a defense with six shutouts this season but is a microcosm of that scoring shift too. On Saturday night, the Colorado native scored her fourth goal in her past 19 games after not having a goal in her first 68 matches.

Saturday's 6-0 rout gave GCU its Division I program record for goals in a season (41) … with at least six games remaining. The Lopes also are tied for 10th nationally at 2.93 goals per game.

"The way we're scoring right now is amazing and it's just such good team soccer with such good team goals," said Cissell, noting that three Saturday goals came on headers. "The build-up to some of the goals has been phenomenal."

New Mexico State had a chance to jump GCU in the standings, but the Lopes pounced on the opportunity with junior forward Gianna Gourley continuing her scoring surge. Just a minute after she nearly set up a score for sophomore midfielder Brenna Alderson, Gourley was set up to score when Edwards reversed the ball at midfield to the sure feet of senior forward Marleen Schimmer. The German scoring star sidestepped one Aggie, blew by another on the dribble and then drew in two more before passing left to Gourley for a sixth-minute blast into the right net.

After Edwards closed the first-half scoring with a header goal off Schimmer's corner kick in the 23rd minute, Gourley started GCU on course for a blowout by scoring in the sixth minute of the second half too.

Schimmer assisted on the first three goals, with the last one coming when she again penetrated the middle of the field. She sent the ball right to junior forward Dani Babb, who used her speed to get ahead of a defender and draw out the goalkeeper. Babb's one-touch pass centered the ball to Gourley to score on a helpless defender in front of an empty net.

It gave GCU a 3-0 lead and put Gourley at six goals in the past four games.

"We always thought she was going to be this type of player and now she's showing that we were right," Cissell said, "I think it's confidence with her."

Gianna Gourley

Gourley, an Iowa transfer from Las Vegas, set a career season high of eight goals and shares the team lead with Schimmer.

"This team is such a big family and they were so welcoming," Gourley said. "Coming in, there's a lot of pressure and they just made the transition so easy. I couldn't be more thankful to have a new family so quickly. That's helped me get my game back and get going."

With GCU's first three-assist game since Kelsey Smith did it in 2018, Schimmer tied the Lopes' all-time record for assists in a season (nine) and set the single-season points record (25) in the program's Division I era.

The goals piled up with Gourley turning to playmaker in the 64th minute. She sent a ball ahead to junior forward Lindsey Prokop, who made two hesitation moves and backpedaled to pass into the middle for Alderson's left-footed goal and a 4-0 lead.

The scoring relay continued with Alderson's corner kick going to freshman defender Destinee Duran, whose header recorded her first career goal on her first career shot in the 69th minute.

GCU fifth-year midfielder Haley Bostard finished the scoring with another header in the 82nd minute, when senior Perri Belzer lofted an assist from the right side.

A six-goal deluge can camouflage great defense. Lopes sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Ferguson matched her career high of eight saves and had the game's highlight play when she made a diving save on a point-blank shot. While lying down, she blocked a rebound shot and gained control with an Aggie kick coming at her.

"Jordan is amazing," Edwards said. "I wouldn't want any other person in goal. She shows up for us every day and works her butt off. I know she's got our back. Same thing with the back line. We're a family back there. Tyler (Ferguson, a junior defender) and I have a new motto: if they don't score, they can't win."