Home formula continues for 3-0 win in WAC opener

Thursday, September 21

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

7-3-1, 1-0-0

Seattle U

2-7-1, 0-1-0

Seattle U

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

9/21/2023 10:41:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score

Gourley's 11th goal, Pirro's 9th assist combine with defense's 6th shutout to beat Seattle U

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon's defense is one of the stingiest in the nation. GCU senior forward Gianna Gourley scores goals at an elite level. GCU sophomore midfielder Leah Pirro creates more goals for teammates than all but one player in the nation.

When the Lopes flex all those strengths, the cumulative power tilts the game to GCU as if it has more players and is heading downhill for goals.

With Gourley's 11th goal and Pirro's ninth assist in the Lopes' 11th match, GCU posted its sixth shutout of the season to beat Seattle U 3-0 in the WAC opener at GCU Stadium.

Shaking off the gut punch of a potential draw at No. 11 Arkansas slipping away in the final 26 seconds Sunday, GCU won its sixth consecutive home game with a cumulative dominance of 17-1 in those matches.

The Lopes (7-3-1, 1-0 WAC) scored three goals for the first time in 23 all-time meetings with the Redhawks, but they scored all three in the first half Thursday night for the first time this season. Seattle was coming off a tie against Washington and a 2-1 loss at No. 24 Washington State.

Celebration

"That shows our mindset, our character and our resilience," GCU head coach Chris Cissell said. "That (3-2 loss at Arkansas) could've broke a lot of teams. Seattle's a very good defensive team. We didn't start off strong in the first 15, 20 minutes, but once we broke the seal and got the first goal, then I felt like we really took control of it."

The Lopes talked in the Arkansas postgame, the week's practices, the pregame meal, the pregame locker room and the halftime locker room about the importance of starting WAC play well. GCU lost its first three conference games last season, and even a 6-1 finish could not make up for it to earn a first-round WAC Tournament bye.

Facing a physical Seattle U team that lost one WAC game last season, GCU took time to get its midfield press established but flipped the game once it did. Until then, the Lopes needed to withstand a ninth-minute Redhawks flurry off a corner kick, starting with a punchout by Lopes junior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson.

Seattle U controlled the ensuing loose ball and a lob pass created a two-on-one opportunity against Jackson until Lopes junior defender Aleisha Ganief recovered to block a shot and smother the rebound.

A 13th-minute shot off the crossbar by GCU senior forward Bekah Valdez shifted momentum, and the Lopes struck first in the 25th minute when sophomore midfielder AJ Loera sent a long lead pass ahead for Gourley.

Gourley caught up to the ball about 35 yards outside of the goal and shot from 15 yards away with a drive so powerful that the goalkeeper's deflection could not stop the topspin that carried the ball into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

Only three players in the nation have more goals this season than Gourley, whose 11th in 11 matches gives her 45 in her career to tie for third most nationally among active Division I players. Of the 10 double-digit goal seasons in GCU's all-time history, Gourley owns three of them and is chasing her 18-goal single-season record that she set last year.

"Once we score one, it opens the floodgates," Pirro said. "Once we get one, it definitely gets us going, and it's honestly pretty hard to stop us."

P

irro saw to that when she proved stronger in a one-on-one battle and took the ball upfield toward the middle, where she tapped it to junior midfielder Ani Jensen in open space.

Jensen left a defender with a crossover to her strong left foot, which she used to bang a 20-yard rocket off the inside of the right post.

"Leah found my feet, and I found my space, took a touch and shot it and it went off the far post," said Jensen, who started a conga-line celebration. "That's as sweet as it gets.

"I think it was great for us to get ahead early. That really sets us up for success."

Pirro sets the Lopes up for success often. The Simi Valley, California, native is alone in second nationally with nine assists, which is already the second-best assists season in program history behind Marleen Schimmer's GCU single-season record of 14 assists in 2021.

" Leah Pirro

They make me look good," Pirro said. "Ani coming in totally helped. She's such a ball of energy. She's a game-changer, for sure."

Despite the slow start, the Lopes dominated the first half with a 15-5 shot advantage (6-0 shots on goal).

Three of those came in a six-second span in the 42nd minute, when the onslaught began with senior forward Lindsey Prokop being set up by sophomore defender Payton Fisher winning a 50-50 header at midfield.

Prokop dropped a defender and dribbled left past the goalkeeper before sending the ball back to the middle, where Fisher had two close-range shots blocked before senior forward Jaycee Iranshad passed to the far post for a Prokop tap-in goal and a 3-0 lead.

The Lopes subbed more often in the second half with eyes ahead on Sunday, when WAC defending champion Utah Valley visits at 1 p.m. after beating GCU twice last season.

But the Lopes' "Secret Service" defense preserved their sixth shutout, one off the national lead. The clean sheet came without Jackson needing to make a save because of the back-line work by Ganief and juniors Destinee Duran-Wise, Sidney Roberts and Renee Sainz.

The result at GCU Stadium was telling Thursday night, but so was another one across the country. After beating GCU 3-2 at home in the final seconds Sunday, the 11th-ranked Razorbacks ripped apart ninth-ranked Alabama 5-0.

"It shows that we are right there," Cissell said. "We have the potential to do something really special this year."