Lopes kick off WAC Tournament with shutout

Sunday, October 29

Riverside, Calif.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

12-4-4, 5-1-3

Utah Tech

8-7-5, 3-2-4

Utah Tech

Grand Canyon

Photo by: WAC

10/29/2023 7:33:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

GCU's Gourley, Jackson make history in 3-0 win, move to semifinal vs. Utah Valley

By: Jerob Moon

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The fourth-seeded Grand Canyon women's soccer team kicked off its WAC Tournament with a 3-0 win over fifth-seeded Utah Tech in the opening round on Sunday.

Despite 20 mile-per-hour winds and gusts of up to 40 at California Baptist, the Lopes (12-4-4) dominated possession and held a 25-6 shots advantage over Utah Tech (8-7-5). Offensively, GCU was led led by senior captain forward Gianna Gourley, who made more history by breaking her own GCU single-season scoring record with her 19th and 20th goals of the year.

With the win, the Lopes move on to the take on No. 1 seed Utah Valley in a WAC semifinal on Wednesday at 4 p.m (Phoenix time).

"I'm super proud of our soccer family tonight to get this huge win in the quarterfinals against a great team," GCU head coach Chris Cissell said. "I thought our team played extremely well from start to finish. To score three goals and keep a shutout against a strong opponent in a postseason environment, I'm a very happy coach right now."

Most of the run of play during the first half was played in GCU's offensive end, where the Lopes put constant pressure on the Trailblazer back line with 14 shots and six on goal. Finally, GCU broke through for an opening goal in the 19th minute from senior winger Bekah Valdez's unassisted goal.

Valdez intercepted a pass near midfield and took the ball into the 18-yard box before using a quick step-over move to gain space for a right-footed shot into the net. The Dublin, California, native now has six goals on the season and three goals in her last two WAC Tournament matches.

The Lopes took the 1-0 lead into halftime and had to play against the wind, forcing a change in offensive tactics. That didn't stop the shot attempts, as the Lopes took another 11 to reach at least 25 for the third time in the last four games.

The second half was the Gianna Gourley show as the newly crowned WAC Offensive Player of the Year scored two goals to break her single-season scoring record, which she set a year ago to become the first Lope to reach the 20-goal mark.

The Las Vegas native's first Sunday goal was unassisted, as she deflected a pass in the opposing penalty box and shot it right back on frame in the 57th minute.

Later in the 76th minute, Gourley found open space inside 20 yards. thanks to a through ball from freshman winger Hannah Smith, and fired a shot into the left-side netting to seal the 3-0 win.

Gourley's is the sixth 20-goal scorer in the WAC since 1996, and she has the most goals in a single season in the conference since Seattle U's Stephanie Veroida had 22 back in 2014.

The Lopes also saw some history made between the posts as junior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson set a new single-season GCU record with her seventh shutout of the season. Jackson faced six shots and made one save in the win.

The Lopes will have two days off to prepare for the regular-season champion Wolverines in the new WAC Tournament format. GCU will use the extra rest to prepare for a UVU squad that went 7-0-2 in conference play while carrying a 12-match unbeaten streak into Wednesday.