Lopes down Roadrunners 5-0 at home

Sunday, August 27

Phoenix, Ariz.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-1-1, 0-0-0

CSU Bakersfield

1-2-1, 0-0-0

CSU Bakersfield

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Jayden Todd

8/27/2023 4:10:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Gourley records 3rd career hat trick, GCU gets 2nd straight home shutout

By: Jerob Moon

The Grand Canyon women's soccer team was firing on all cylinders on Sunday with a 5-0 win over CSU Bakersfield at GCU Stadium.

The Lopes (2-1-1) have scored nine goals in their last two home games, and Sunday's victory was the largest nonconference win since a 5-0 shutout over Northern Arizona in 2016. Senior forward Gianna Gourley provided the highlights with her third hat trick at GCU.

"I'm super proud of the team," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell. "That was a great performance in these elements. We've been talking about our depth this season, and today we got to utilize it by playing 24 different players while still getting the shutout. I thought we moved the ball really well, and our assists and goals were really good. The team play was excellent."

Like the 110-degree temperature at kickoff, the Lopes came out hot as Gourley got the scoring started in the ninth minute off a pass from sophomore midfielder Leah Pirro, the first of her two assists on the day.

The Lopes were able to extend their lead at the very end of the half as strong build passes from senior forwards Madgalenda Schwarz and Jaycee Iranshad found senior forward Lindsey Prokop in the box. With just one second left on the clock, Prokop deflected the ball into the right side of the goal to put GCU up 2-0 at the break.

It was more of the same for the Lopes in the second half, when they scored a trio of goals that began with two from Gourley to complete her hat trick. Gourley now has 33 career goals as a Lope in just 46 games and she leads the team with five goals and 11 points this season.

After assisting on two Gourley goals, senior forward Bekah Valdez was able to get on the score sheet, finishing inside the penalty box after a long cross from Pirro found her in space. Valdez had her best game of the season, collecting four points in the afternoon.

Defensively, the Lopes relied on the strong play of junior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson. The Cal State Fullertton transfer wrapped up a strong week with five saves and her second shutout win. At Arizona and against CSU Bakersfield, Jackson allowed just one goal with 12 saves.

With a comfortable lead in hand, the Lopes were able to turn to their bench early and often as 13 players substituted and provided meaningful minutes in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Grace Bartlett was active on offense and defense, taking three shots in 34 minutes with one hitting the crossbar.

The Lopes will be back in action at home next week for two highly anticipated matchups. GCU welcomes UTSA and Oregon to GCU Stadium on Thursday and Sept. 3, respectively.