Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Idaho on September 11, 2025 , Win , 1, to, 0
W Soccer
vs Idaho
W 1-0
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, October 12
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
9-4-3, 3-1-2
5
vs
0
UT Rio Grande Valley
3-9-3, 1-5-1
1
2
F
UTRGV
0
0
0
Grand Canyon
3
2
5
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Romp features Ganief's 1st goals, Gourley's 50th
10/12/2023 9:55:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro
GCU defender scores 1st 2 goals in 4 years; Lopes forward becomes top active D-I scorer
No active Division I player in the nation has scored more career goals than Grand Canyon's Gianna Gourley, but even the senior forward's momentous two-goal Thursday night shared equal billing on the highlight reel with a defender.
Lopes senior defender Aleisha Ganief's first two career goals in 4,370 career minutes paired with her work on the "Secret Service" defense that did not allow a shot until the 78th minute of a 5-0 conference home win against UT Rio Grande Valley.
GCU (9-4-3, 3-1-2 WAC) held an opponent to one shot for the first time in its Division I era to record its seventh shutout of the season and pulled within a conference standings point of second-place Seattle U and California Baptist.
But Gourley made a national move.
"We've been playing really, really well the last couple games and just couldn't finish," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said. "We ended up with two ties that we felt should have been two wins. To come out and score as many goals as we did, create as many scoring opportunities as we did, give the opportunity for 26 players to get in the match and still keep a shutout is a great feeling for the coaching staff and hopefully our entire soccer family."
Gourley's 15th and 16th goals of the season gave her 50 career goals in 93 matches, making her the national active leader for career goals. The goals, which came 2 1/2 minutes apart, put Gourley third in the nation for goals this season (behind Nebraska's Eleanor Dale with 19 and Texas' Lexi Missimo with 17).
On their way to extending their unbeaten streak to four matches (2-0-2), the Lopes pounced quickly on the Vaqueros with Gourley putting two shots on goal before Ganief struck first in the 12th minute.
With the first of her three brilliant assists on GCU's excellent passing night, GCU senior forward Bekah Valdez sent a ball from wide right into the box. Ganief used a mid-air redirect to put the ball inside the far post for a 1-0 lead at GCU Stadium.
"Coming from Canada and doing all this, it feels good," said Ganief, a Vancouver native who, like Gourley, transferred to GCU from Iowa before last season.
"Normally, off of crosses, I think that maybe a second ball will come in. I did what I normally do and stayed in the box, and I got something on it. It went in, and I'm really happy about that."
Gourley's scoring began in the 21st minute with sophomore midfielder Leah Pirro sending a long diagonal pass in stride with the Las Vegas native's run. Gourley high-kicked the ball away from UTRGV's charging goalkeeper, and Gourley knocked it into the net as she fell to her back for a 2-0 Lopes lead. It marked Pirro's 11th assist, tying her for the second most nationally this season.
The goal buzz was barely gone before Gourley had another when Valdez came up the left side and used nifty footwork with a fake over the ball and a zig-zag move before a touch pass between two defenders. Gourley dragged the ball backward and lined a 15-yard shot into the top right of the net for a 3-0 lead.
Gourley's 50th career goal sent her past Oklahoma's Emma Hawkins (49 goals) and Arkansas' Anna Podojil (48) for the national lead among active D-I players.
"It's a surreal feeling," Gourley said. "It's great to see how hard work pays off in the end. But I've been surrounded by great players, so I can't take all the credit. It's the people who helped me out and rooted for me."
Ganief's second goal came in the first 11 minutes of the second half after a UTRGV foul set up sophomore midfielder AJ Loera for a free kick about 7 yards above the box. Loera curled pass to the left, where Ganief headed it back to the right for a 4-0 cushion.
"The second goal was really fulfilling because me and AJ, after practice every day, are doing those free kicks and corners," Ganief said. "That was really good on us to finally get something off of it."
On a night when Gourley only logged 23 minutes, Cissell used 26 players who sustained the attack. Fourteen of GCU's 22 shots were on goal, including the final Lopes goal in the 64th minute.
Lopes junior defender Destinee Duran-Wise withstood a slide tackle to get a pass to Valdez, who continued to benefit in isolation from the wide offense.
Valdez snaked between two defenders and crossed inside the box to senior midfielder Magdalena Schwarz outside the far post. Schwarz banged the chance home to match GCU's season high for goals with a 5-0 lead.
Valdez's career high for assists was the first three-assist match by a Lope since Marleen Schimmer in 2021.
The game also marked the first start for junior midfielder Brenna Alderson since Aug. 20, when she suffered an injury that kept her out until last week's return of the bench against California Baptist.
The Lopes have Senior Day at 1 p.m. Sunday against Stephen F. Austin before finishing regular-season play at Abilene Christian and Tarleton. Even with winning out, the Lopes will need help to get to second place for a first-round bye. But this WAC Tournament structure gives two days between each round's games.
"If we get all nine points, I think we'll put ourselves in really good position to get that two-seed," Cissell said. "But even if we don't, we've got the team to go there and win three games with the depth we have. Tonight proved what kind of depth we have. If we need to play Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday to win the WAC Tournament, I think we have the team to do it."
Lopes senior defender Aleisha Ganief's first two career goals in 4,370 career minutes paired with her work on the "Secret Service" defense that did not allow a shot until the 78th minute of a 5-0 conference home win against UT Rio Grande Valley.
GCU (9-4-3, 3-1-2 WAC) held an opponent to one shot for the first time in its Division I era to record its seventh shutout of the season and pulled within a conference standings point of second-place Seattle U and California Baptist.
But Gourley made a national move.
"We've been playing really, really well the last couple games and just couldn't finish," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said. "We ended up with two ties that we felt should have been two wins. To come out and score as many goals as we did, create as many scoring opportunities as we did, give the opportunity for 26 players to get in the match and still keep a shutout is a great feeling for the coaching staff and hopefully our entire soccer family."
Gourley's 15th and 16th goals of the season gave her 50 career goals in 93 matches, making her the national active leader for career goals. The goals, which came 2 1/2 minutes apart, put Gourley third in the nation for goals this season (behind Nebraska's Eleanor Dale with 19 and Texas' Lexi Missimo with 17).
On their way to extending their unbeaten streak to four matches (2-0-2), the Lopes pounced quickly on the Vaqueros with Gourley putting two shots on goal before Ganief struck first in the 12th minute.
With the first of her three brilliant assists on GCU's excellent passing night, GCU senior forward Bekah Valdez sent a ball from wide right into the box. Ganief used a mid-air redirect to put the ball inside the far post for a 1-0 lead at GCU Stadium.
"Coming from Canada and doing all this, it feels good," said Ganief, a Vancouver native who, like Gourley, transferred to GCU from Iowa before last season.
"Normally, off of crosses, I think that maybe a second ball will come in. I did what I normally do and stayed in the box, and I got something on it. It went in, and I'm really happy about that."
Gourley's scoring began in the 21st minute with sophomore midfielder Leah Pirro sending a long diagonal pass in stride with the Las Vegas native's run. Gourley high-kicked the ball away from UTRGV's charging goalkeeper, and Gourley knocked it into the net as she fell to her back for a 2-0 Lopes lead. It marked Pirro's 11th assist, tying her for the second most nationally this season.The goal buzz was barely gone before Gourley had another when Valdez came up the left side and used nifty footwork with a fake over the ball and a zig-zag move before a touch pass between two defenders. Gourley dragged the ball backward and lined a 15-yard shot into the top right of the net for a 3-0 lead.
Gourley's 50th career goal sent her past Oklahoma's Emma Hawkins (49 goals) and Arkansas' Anna Podojil (48) for the national lead among active D-I players.
"It's a surreal feeling," Gourley said. "It's great to see how hard work pays off in the end. But I've been surrounded by great players, so I can't take all the credit. It's the people who helped me out and rooted for me."
Ganief's second goal came in the first 11 minutes of the second half after a UTRGV foul set up sophomore midfielder AJ Loera for a free kick about 7 yards above the box. Loera curled pass to the left, where Ganief headed it back to the right for a 4-0 cushion."The second goal was really fulfilling because me and AJ, after practice every day, are doing those free kicks and corners," Ganief said. "That was really good on us to finally get something off of it."
On a night when Gourley only logged 23 minutes, Cissell used 26 players who sustained the attack. Fourteen of GCU's 22 shots were on goal, including the final Lopes goal in the 64th minute.
Lopes junior defender Destinee Duran-Wise withstood a slide tackle to get a pass to Valdez, who continued to benefit in isolation from the wide offense.
Valdez snaked between two defenders and crossed inside the box to senior midfielder Magdalena Schwarz outside the far post. Schwarz banged the chance home to match GCU's season high for goals with a 5-0 lead.Valdez's career high for assists was the first three-assist match by a Lope since Marleen Schimmer in 2021.
The game also marked the first start for junior midfielder Brenna Alderson since Aug. 20, when she suffered an injury that kept her out until last week's return of the bench against California Baptist.
The Lopes have Senior Day at 1 p.m. Sunday against Stephen F. Austin before finishing regular-season play at Abilene Christian and Tarleton. Even with winning out, the Lopes will need help to get to second place for a first-round bye. But this WAC Tournament structure gives two days between each round's games.
"If we get all nine points, I think we'll put ourselves in really good position to get that two-seed," Cissell said. "But even if we don't, we've got the team to go there and win three games with the depth we have. Tonight proved what kind of depth we have. If we need to play Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday to win the WAC Tournament, I think we have the team to do it."
Team Stats
UTRGV
GCU
Goals
0
5
Shots
1
22
Shots on Goal
1
14
Saves
9
1
Corners
2
7
Fouls
6
5
Scoring Plays
Aleisha Ganief (2)
Assisted By: Bekah Valdez
GOAL by GCU Ganief, Aleisha Assist by Valdez, Bekah.
11:00
Gianna Gourley (16)
Assisted By: Leah Pirro
GOAL by GCU Gourley, Gianna Assist by Pirro, Leah.
20:28
Gianna Gourley (16)
Assisted By: Bekah Valdez
GOAL by GCU Gourley, Gianna Assist by Valdez, Bekah.
22:55
Aleisha Ganief (2)
Assisted By: AJ Loera
GOAL by GCU Ganief, Aleisha Assist by Loera, AJ.
55:46
Magdalena Schwarz (2)
Assisted By: Bekah Valdez
GOAL by GCU Schwarz, Magdalena Assist by Valdez, Bekah.
63:36
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
4
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
3
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerD
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's SoccerM
/ Women's SoccerF
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