Bounce-back win comes in dominating fashion

Sunday, August 20

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-1-0, 0-0-0

Wright State

0-2-0, 0-0-0

Wright St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

8/20/2023 9:07:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU wins 4-0 with brilliant passing, didn't allow shot on goal for 70 minutes

By: Paul Coro

The Wright State women's soccer team had the unfortunate timing of being next on the Grand Canyon women's soccer schedule after the Lopes' season-opening 2-1 loss.

After feeling like it let a win or draw get away Thursday night against Mississippi State, the Lopes were going to be more polished and focused for victory against anyone. It just so happened that Wright State was the next visitor to GCU Stadium, where the Lopes bounced back quicker than a failed email to dominate the Raiders in a 4-0 victory Sunday night.

GCU (1-1) did not allow a shot on goal for the first 70 minutes and outshot Wright State 19-5 for the match.

The Lopes scored four goals that were only outshined by the assists on each score, including two pinpoint long passes from sophomore midfielder Leah Pirro.

"The assists were absolutely amazing," GCU head coach Chris Cissell said. "All of them were good goals, but we're even more proud or excited about the assists."

GCU defeated Wright State 4-0 at GCU Stadium.

GCU defeated Wright State 4-0 at GCU Stadium.

The Lopes opened the scoring on just their third shot in the 14th minute, when senior forward Lindsey Prokop sent a ball to Pirro down the right sideline. Pirro essentially turned on a live-action corner kick, drilling a cross to the top of the goal area with junior midfielder Brenna Alderson making a middle run between Wright State defenders to apply a left-foot touch that pushed the ball left of the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.

"We just wanted to come out with a higher intensity and work as a team better and move the ball better than Thursday, and we did that," said Alderson, a Gilbert Perry High School graduate with 11 career goals. "We talked about getting the early crosses in, as part of our game plan, and we did that."

Pirro then fired three shots in a three-minute span to keep the field tilted the Lopes' way with ball control.

Less than seven minutes after entering as a substitute, GCU senior forward Bekah Valdez regained the ball after a left-side inbound and found senior forward Gianna Gourley above the penalty box. Gourley, the nation's fourth-leading scorer last season, returned the give-and-go ball to Valdez, who paused before sending a goal inside the far post for a 2-0 lead.

"That was beautiful," Cissell said. "I keep telling her (Gourley), 'You're going to have so much attention and so much focus on you, so you're going to have to be a playmaker as well as a scorer.' She's been really good to start the first two games."

GCU defeated Wright State 4-0 at GCU Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Lopes defense was leaving junior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson lonely. Between GCU staying on the attack and the back line thwarting any threats, the Lopes went into the halftime locker room with a 2-0 score edge via a 10-1 shot advantage.

"I think our back line did really well today, defensively, in transition and working together," GCU junior defender Aleisha Ganief said. "We really worked on staying compact as a unit, dropping together, not letting anything go behind us. I think we did a really good job coming back from Mississippi State and not letting them capitalize in transition. Our defensive line kept them from going forward."

Cissell sought even faster play in the second half, when the Lopes immediately went into the attacking third.

GCU's third goal started in the back with junior defender Renee Sainz passing to Pirro, who launched a long ball to Gourley breaking behind the Wright State defense. The 50-yard pass kept Gourley in stride as she headed toward the box with a one-on-one chance, which she parked on the short side of the goalkeeper and inside the right pole for a 3-0 lead in the 53rd minute.

"Gianna's goal was amazing," Cissell said. "The whole build-up was unreal. Leah played just a perfect ball in. And you know when 'G' is in one on with the keeper like that, GCU defeated Wright State 4-0 at GCU Stadium.

I like our chances."

Gourley has amassed 29 goals in three GCU seasons, and the Las Vegas native has 35 career goals, which ranks ninth nationally among active Division I players.

But the Lopes did not lean heavily on the stars, such as its Preseason All-WAC duo of Gourley and Pirro. Twenty Lopes played in the first half and 23 played in the game.

"It was an opportunity to get a lot of girls playing time at home in front of their friends and family," Cissell said. "It also keeps us healthy and fresh, as we have a huge match at UofA in Tucson on Thursday."

Jackson faced her first shot on goal in the 71st minute, when the Cal State Fullerton transfer challenged a shot from the left side and deflected it away en route to her first collegiate shutout.

Shortly after Jackson's save, GCU stretched the lead to 4-0 when junior midfielder Ani Jensen sent the ball wide left to sophomore forward Maddie Brady while being knocked down. Jensen popped back up and went deeper into the box, where Brady put a pass that Jensen headed to the right side of the net for a goal on her first shot of the season.

"We expected for us to bounce back," Cissell said. "We've had two really good training sessions on Friday and Saturday to learn from the loss. We watched a lot of video and saw what we did well against Mississippi State.

"We're a little disappointed that we're 1-1. We feel like we could be 2-0 or at least 1-0-1, but when you evaluate the way we've played the first two games of the season, we're very proud of where we're at this early in the season."

The Lopes play Thursday night at Arizona at 7 p.m. after beating the Wildcats 1-0 in Phoenix last season.