WAC Tournament kicks off against Utah Tech

Sunday, October 29

Riverside, Calif.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Utah Tech

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Photo by: David Kadlubowski

10/28/2023 2:05:00 PM | Women's Soccer

4th-seeded Lopes face Trailblazers in 1st round for 2nd straight year

By: Jerob Moon

WAC Tournament first round | Sunday, Oct. 29 | 4 p.m. | Riverside, Calif. | CBU Soccer Stadium


(4) Grand Canyon Lopes (11-4-4, 5-1-3 WAC)	vs.	(5) Utah Tech Trailblazers (8-6-5, 3-2-4 WAC)
Match Notes	Live Video Live Stats

No. 4 seed Grand Canyon will kick off the first round of the WAC Tournament with a first-round matchup against No. 5 seed Utah Tech. The Lopes and Trailblazers meet in the opening round for the second straight season.

A win would advance the Lopes to face No. 1 seed Utah Valley in the semifinals on Wednesday at 4 p.m. (Phoenix time).

The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

GOURLEY PLAYER OF THE YEAR: After a spectacular regular season, GCU senior forward Gianna Gourley was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the second Lope to win the award. Gourley led the Lopes and the WAC with 18 goals and 41 points. Both marks rank third in the nation. Gourley is the active Division I leader in career goals with 52, thanks to five multi-goal games that include a hat trick against CSU Bakersfield. She made the All-WAC first team for the third straight year.
All-WAC AWARDS: Along with Gourley, five other Lopes were named to postseason All-WAC teams. Junior defender Aleisha Ganief and sophomore midfielders AJ Loera and Leah Pirro joined Gourley on the first team. Pirro ranks fourth nationally with 12 assists and Ganief had four goals in 18 matches as a defender. Junior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson earned All-WAC second-team honors while midfielder Madison Hamm landed on the WAS All-Freshman Team.
WAC REMATCH: GCU and Utah Tech will meet for the second straight season in the opening round of the WAC Tournament. The Trailblazers and Lopes were the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds a year ago in Seattle with GCU winning 3-0. Pirro, Gourley and midfielder Ani Jensen scored as the Lopes outshot the Trailblazers 25-8. This season, GCU and Utah Tech tied 1-1 in St. George, Utah, on Oct. 1.

SCOUTING
Utah Tech finished the regular season with a 3-2-4 WAC record, accumulating 13 points to finish as the No. 5 seed and advance to the WAC Tournament for the second straight season. Conference play began with three straight ties for the Trailblazers but they found their form going 2-0-1 in their next three matches against Stephen F. Austin, UT Rio Grande Valley and Tarleton to catapult into the upper half of the conference standings.

Six Utah Tech players earned postseason All-WAC honors, including three on the WAC All-Freshman Team. All-WAC second-team recipient Brynlee Rider led the Trailblazers with seven goals and six assists. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Brianna Frey leads the team with a 1.60 goals against average in 13 starts.