Weekend WAC play continues at home

Friday, October 1

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

California Baptist

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9/30/2021 12:56:00 PM | Women's Soccer

California Baptist, Seattle U come to GCU Stadium

By: Jerob Moon


Grand Canyon Lopes (8-2-1, 1-0-1 WAC)	vs	California Baptist Lancers (3-4-1, 1-0 WAC)	Seattle U Redhawks (6-3-1, 0-1 WAC)
		Friday, Oct. 1 7 p.m.	Sunday, Oct. 3 7 p.m.
Match Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

The Grand Canyon women's soccer returns to GCU Stadium after a three-game road trip with games against California Baptist on Friday night and Seattle U on Sunday night. The Lopes are coming off a 0-0 draw at Utah Valley and a 5-1 win at Dixie State last weekend to open WAC play with four points.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

GOURLEY EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior forward Gianna Gourley was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time as a Lope on Monday. Gourley led the way for GCU against Dixie State, scoring a hat trick in just four minutes in the second half as GCU won 5-1.
LEADING THE WAC: After the first slate of conference games, the Lopes continue to lead the WAC in multiple categories. The Lopes are first in goals (28), assists (23), points (80) and goals against average (0.79). Individually, Gourley and fellow forward Lindsey Prokop leads the conference with five goals while midfielder Marleen Schimmer leads with six assists and 14 points.
400 CLUB: On Sunday, head coach Chris Cissell reached a major milestone with his 400th win in his illustrious career. Cissell has won 286 games at three schools as a women's soccer head coach and 114 wins at the helm of men's soccer at William Jewell, his alma mater.

SCOUTING

California Baptist has struggled to score so far this season with just five goals in eight matches but opened WAC play with a 1-0 win against Seattle U last week. The Lancers returned eight of their 11 starters from last season, including Preseason All-WAC goalkeeper Romy Salvador.

Forward Madison Sonerholm leads the team with three points this season and scored the game-winning goal against the Redhawks in the 37th minute last week. Salvador has made 24 saves for the Lancers while holding a 1.22 goals against average.

Seattle U boasted strong nonconference results heading into WAC play with a 2-2 draw against defending national champion Santa Clara and a 2-1 win at Washington State but slipped up in the first WAC match of the season. The Redhawks look to get back on track with a match on Friday at New Mexico State before facing GCU on Sunday.

Senior forward Sydney Carr returns for Seattle U after leading the nation with 16 goals last season, and has a team-high six points this year. Fifth-year returner Leah Manthei has scored three goals while moving to a substitute role with only two starts. Goalie Jessica Berlin ranks second in the conference with a 1.05 goals against average that trails GCU's Jordan Ferguson.