Lopes head out on Midwest road trip

Thursday, September 7

Brookings, S.D.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

South Dakota State

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

9/6/2023 2:54:00 PM | Women's Soccer

After 3-0 homestand, Lopes take on South Dakota State, North Dakota

By: Jerob Moon


Grand Canyon Lopes (4-1-1)	vs.	South Dakota State Jackrabbits (5-1)	North Dakota Fighting Hawks (3-2-1)
		Thursday, Sept. 7 4 p.m.	Sunday, Sept. 10 11 a.m.
Match Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

Fresh off a 3-0 homestand, the Lopes are hitting the road for a Midwest road trip that will take them to South Dakota State and North Dakota on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

Both matches will be streamed live on MidcoSportsPlus.com, which requires a paid subscription.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

SUCCESSFUL HOMESTAND: The Lopes are heading out of Arizona for the first time since their preseason training trip to California, and they are doing so fresh off an unbeaten homestand. GCU defeated CSU Bakersfield, UT San Antonio and Oregon by a combined score of 8-0. The Lopes did not allow a goal in three straight matches for the first time since 2021.
DEFENSE HONORED: Thanks to another solid week of defense, the Lopes were honored in the WAC weekly awards. Junior DeAira Jackson was named WAC Goalkeeper of the Week for the second consecutive week while junior Sidney Roberts was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week. Jackson ranks second in the nation with four shutouts this season with Roberts captaining the defensive back line for a team-leading 502 minutes this season.
NEARING 100: Senior forward Gianna Gourley is nearing another record as she sits at 96 career points, four off the 100-point milestone. Gourley would become the sixth active Division I player to reach that mark joining South Dakota State's Maya Hansen, who the Lopes face on Thursday. Gourley added two more goals to her WAC-leading total last week and now has seven on the season with 15 points.

SCOUTING

South Dakota State has retooled and started off hot, entering this week with a 5-1 record. The Jackrabbits finished 13-1-5 last season with a 7-0-2 Summit League play record. This season's roster boasts 15 upperclassmen, including senior forward Maya Hansen, who sits at 107 career points. South Dakota State is 3-0 at Fishback Soccer Park, most recently defeating Iowa State 2-1 on Aug. 27.

North Dakota is coming off a 2-0 road trip that featured wins at Illinois State and Southern Indiana to move above .500 for the first time this season. The Fighting Hawks will face Northern Colorado on Thursday before welcoming GCU to Bronson Field on Sunday. Sophomore defender Amelia Loeffler and senior forward Allison Rapaduski have scored six of the team's 10 goals while graduate goalkeeper Madi Livingston boasts an 0.83 goals against average.