Prokop, Lopes advance to WAC title match

Wednesday, November 1

Riverside, Calif.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

13-4-4, 5-1-3

Utah Valley

10-4-5, 7-0-2

Grand Canyon

Utah Valley

Photo by: WAC

11/1/2023 8:14:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

GCU senior scores game-winning goal in the 88th minute vs. top seed

By: Jerob Moon

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Senior forward Lindsey Prokop was the hero for the Grand Canyon women's soccer team, scoring the game-winning goal Wednesday in the 88th minute to send the Lopes to the WAC Tournament championship match on Saturday.

The fourth-seeded Lopes (13-4-4) upset top-seeded Utah Valley (10-4-5), the conference regular-season champs who received votes in the national top-25 poll and entered Wednesday's semifinal on a 12-game unbeaten streak. With the win, the Lopes advance to their second WAC championship match in program history. If they beat Seattle U in the 1 p.m. Saturday game at CBU Soccer Complex, GCU will punch its second NCAA tournament ticket in three seasons.

In a back-and-forth match, the Lopes took an early 1-0 lead in the 25th minute on a UVU own goal and the defense kept the lead until the second half, when the Wolverines answered with a tying goal off a corner kick in the 61st minute.

Off another UVU corner in the 88th minute, the Lopes mustered one final counterattack with senior forward Bekah Valdez finding Prokop in space with a lead pass and the Omaha, Nebraska, native slotted the shot past the charging goalkeeper just inside the 18-yard box.

"The ending was amazing," GCU head coach Chris Cissell said. "It was two phenomenal teams just going at it. When you're playing against Utah Valley, they are year in and year out one of the best teams in the conference. We have established quite an amazing rivalry with them over the years."

It was a tale of two halves with the Lopes controlling most of the possession and scoring chances in the first 45 minutes. That offensive pressure provided a breakthrough in the 25th minute with midfielder Leah Pirro finding Gourley in the box with a high-arching pass. Gourley quickly fired a shot which was saved by the UVU keeper but the ball deflected off a Wolverine defender and into the net.

Down 1-0 in the second half, the Wolverines turned up the pressure on offense, which produced five corner kicks. On the third corner kick of the period, the Wolverines tied the match at 1-1 with a header by Ruby Hladek in the 61st minute.

Later on in the 88th minute, the Wolverines attempted another corner which GCU junior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson caught and quickly found Valdez down the right side before the GCU winger sprung Prokop free with a long pass for the eventual game-winner.

"I looked back when we had the ball going up the field and it said two minutes left and I saw Bekah and I was like, 'One last run; let's see what we can do,'" Prokop said. "When she passed the ball, I'm not even kidding, my vision blacked out. I didn't know what was going on, but I was on the ground and the ball was going in the net. I couldn't be more proud of this team."

Prokop has a knack for scoring important GCU goals. She was named the WAC Tournament MVP in 2021 after she scored two game-winning goals and led the Lopes to their first WAC Tournament title.

"This team is what I would call gritty grinders," Cissell said. "That was a tough match playing against the No. 1 overall seed that was on a bye and on rest. I felt like everyone performed at a really high level, so I'm super proud of the entire soccer family."