WAC Tournament begins with Chicago State

Tuesday, April 13

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Chicago State

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4/12/2021 3:11:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Lopes host conference tournament for 1st time since 2017

By: Jerob Moon

WAC Tournament first round | Tuesday, April 13 | 7 p.m. | Phoenix, Ariz. | GCU Stadium


No. 3 Grand Canyon Lopes (7-8-1)	vs.	No. 6 Chicago State Cougars (0-16)
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The No. 3-seeded Grand Canyon women's soccer team will kick off the WAC Tournament at GCU Stadium against No. 6-seeded Chicago State on Tuesday nigth. The Lopes are hosting the conference tournament for the second time, but will look to capture more magic than when the team hosted in 2017. The sixth-seeded Lopes defeated third-seeded UT Rio Grande Valley 2-1 in overtime for the GCU Division I era's first posteason win.

Tuesday night's game will be streamed live on the ESPN+ with a subscription. International fans can watch on the WAC Digital Network.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

WAC COACH OF THE YEAR: In his first season with GCU, head coach Chris Cissell was named WAC Coach of the Year. It was Cissell's third time winning the award. as he helped lead the Lopes from a four-win 2019 season to the No. 3 seed in this year's WAC Tournament. Cissell revamped a GCU offense with 31 goals and a program-record 34 assists. Under Cissell, the Lopes surged in the second half of the season, finishing 6-1-1 in their last eight games to claim the No. 3 seed.
FIVE All-WAC HONOREES: The Lopes also had five players earn All-WAC honors this season. Junior Marleen Schimmer was named to the All-WAC first team while redshirt sophomore Jaycee Iranshad was named to the second team. Midfielder Brenna Alderson and goalkeeper Jordan Ferguson earned All-WAC Freshman Team honors, marking the second consecutive year the Lopes place two players on the team. Senior defender Hannah Edwards also earned All-WAC honorable mention.
2-0 AGAINST CSU: The Lopes won this season's previous two matches with Chicago State on the road. On March 25, the Lopes won 6-1 and were led offensively by Dani Babb, who scored two goals in the 14th and 87th minutes. In the second match on March 27, the Lopes scored four goals in the second half and Alderson recorded her career's first multi-goal game.

SCOUTING
Chicago State will play in its first-ever WAC Tournament on Tuesday when it faces GCU. The Cougars ended the regular season without a win, dropping their final match 3-1 at UTRGV.

Sophomore forward Barbara Castellanos was an All-WAC honorable mention team after scoring two of the Cougars' five goals this season. Her 14 shots and seven shots on goal also lead the team. The Cougars rank at the bottom in most categories, including goals, assists, points and goals allowed. On the defensive end, CSU goalkeeper Stell Chiara Chiaradia has started each game and leads the WAC with 126 saves.