Homestand continues with UTSA, Oregon

Thursday, August 31

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

UTSA

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Photo by: Jayden Todd

8/30/2023 4:52:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Lopes welcome Roadrunners and Ducks to GCU Stadium

By: Jerob Moon


Grand Canyon Lopes (2-1-1)	vs.	UTSA Roadrunners (3-1)	Oregon Ducks (0-2-1)
		Thursday, Aug. 31 7 p.m.	Sunday, Sept. 3 1 p.m.
Match Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

The Grand Canyon women's soccer team will host a pair of nonconference opponents at GCU Stadium as campus comes to life with students returning. Thursday's match against UTSA will be the Lopes' Welcome Week spotlight before GCU welcomes Pac-12 opponent Oregon on Sunday.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

NATIONAL LEADERS: A pair of Lopes have climbed the national leaderboards to start the season. Preseason All-WAC midfielder Leah Pirro currently leads the nation with five assists while senior forward Gianna Gourley ranks fifth in country with five goals.
WEEKLY WAC HONORS: After an unbeaten week the Lopes took home a pair of WAC weekly honors. Gourley was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring four goals including a hat trick against CSU Bakersfield, the third of her career. On the flip side, junior goalie DeAira Jackson was named WAC Goalkeeper of the Week after collecing 12 total saves including seven against Arizona along with a shutout win against CSUB.
VALDEZ SHINES IN SECOND HALF: Senior forward Bekah Valdez was involved in all three second half goals against the Roadrunners. Valdez assisted on a pair of goals by Gourley in the 47th and 58th minutes before scoring her own goal in the 60th minute. Valdez's four points were a season-high and she set a new career-high with her two assists.

SCOUTING

UTSA left their mark on Conference USA in 2022 by winning their first conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. The Roadrunners were involved in the offseason conference realignment and are new members of the American this season. UTSA has started 3-1 this year with the lone loss coming at Texas A&M. Sophie Morrin leads the team with two goals and four points while goalie Mia Krusinski has a 1.00 GAA to start the season.

Oregon is looking for its first win of the season after starting at 0-2-1. The Ducks have had three challenging matches to start the season with losses to Baylor and No. 10 Arkansas along with a 0-0 draw against Missouri State. Oregon will face Northern Arizona on Thursday before facing GCU on Sunday. While the Ducks haven't scored a goal this season, freshman Myra Schneider leads the team with four shots. Defensively goalkeeper Maddy Goldberg has 20 saves and a .769 save percentage in three matches.