Lopes head out on Utah roadtrip

Thursday, September 28

Cedar City, Utah

3 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Southern Utah

Photo by: Sebastian Molinar

9/27/2023 2:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer

WAC play continues for GCU this week at Southern Utah and Utah Tech

By: Jerob Moon


Grand Canyon Lopes (7-4-1, 1-1 WAC)	vs.	Southern Utah Thunderbirds (0-5-5, 0-0-1 WAC)	Utah Tech Trailblazers (5-4-2, 0-0-1 WAC)
		Thursday, Sept. 28 3 p.m.	Sunday, Oct. 1 12 p.m.
Match Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

The Grand Canyon women's soccer team continues Western Athletic Conference play with a trip to Southern Utah and Utah Tech on Thursday and Sunday.

Thursday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+ while Sunday's match is streaming on WAC International TV.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

GOURLEY KEEPS PACE: Senior forward Gianna Gourley scored her 11th goal of the season in a 3-0 win over Seattle U on Sept. 21 to keep pace as the WAC's leading scorer. Gourley now has 11 goals and 24 points this season both top-seven marks nationally. Only Abilene Christian's Chayse Thorn has been able to keep up with Gourley's pace, matching the GCU striker in goals and assist totals entering this week.
SHUTOUT TOTAL INCREASES: Along with a strong showing by the offense against the Redhawks last week with a trio of first-half goals, the GCU defense stepped up and recorded another shutout. Junior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson now has six shutouts this season, top in the WAC and sixth nationally. Jackson is one shutout away from setting a new GCU single season record.
HISTORICALLY SUCCESSFUL: The Lopes have found success against their two Utah opponents this week. Last season the Lopes won their first conference match against Southern Utah 4-0 on Oct. 21. And against Utah Tech, the Lopes have won six straight matchups dating back to the D-II matchups when both teams were in the Pacific West. GCU took down the Trailblazers 3-0 in the first round of the WAC Tournament last season in the first postseason matchup between the two schools.

SCOUTING

Southern Utah is 10 matches in the 2023 regular season and still looking for the first win as they lead the WAC with five draws. In the WAC opener last week Southern Utah fell behind 1-0 to Utah Tech but found the equalizer in the 75th minute to earn a point in the conference standings. Sophomore Sammie Sofonia leads the team with three goals and three assists while goalkeeper Julia Ortega has struggled so far with a 2.23 goals against average.

Utah Tech started WAC play with a draw to Southern Utah and will look for their first conference win against California Baptist on Thursday before hosting the Lopes on Sunday. The Trailblazers finished nonconference play with three straight wins over Portland State, Colorado State and Idaho State scoring eight goals in that span. Sophomore Lacy Fox has been the primary offensive threat with six of the team's 14 goals this season. Sophomore Brianna Frey has been solid in goal with a 1.56 GAA which is third in WAC.