Draw in Riverside clinches WAC Tournament bye

Saturday, October 26

Riverside, Calif.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

11-5-2, 5-1-1

California Baptist

7-6-3, 3-3-1

Grand Canyon

California Baptist

10/26/2024 10:07:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Lopes play Seattle U or Utah Tech in Nov. 6 tourney semifinal

By: Braden Dohrmann

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Grand Canyon finished up its regular season Saturday night with a 0-0 draw at California Baptist.

In the Lopes' fourth consecutive road match, a draw is all GCU (11-5-2, 5-1-1 WAC) needed to clinch a first-round bye in the WAC Tournament. After all other results wrapped up around the conference Saturday, including a 3-3 draw between Utah Valley and Seattle U, it was officially clinched.

GCU clinched the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament that takes place in Abilene, Texas, on Nov. 3-9. The Lopes will not take the pitch until the Nov. 6 semifinals, thanks to the bye. GCU will face the winner of No. 3 seed Seattle U and No. 6 seed Utah Tech. The Lopes won at Seattle U last week and knocked off Utah Tech 2-1 in Phoenix in the team's first WAC match this season.

Head coach Chris Cissell clinched his second bye at the mantle of GCU, also doing so in 2021 when the Lopes won the regular-season and tournament titles.

"We are very excited to have concluded the regular season with such a great overall record," Cissell said. "To finish in the top two and clinch a bye is a huge accomplishment and not an easy thing to do."

The clinching occurred during halftime, but the Lopes still wanted to find a way to get their sixth conference win.

In the first half, the Lopes outshot the Lancers 8-4 with the offensive highlight coming in the 22nd minute, when senior midfielder Bella Piete floated a shot off the crossbar. The shot was the closest that GCU came to a score all night.

The second half was dominated even more by the Lopes, outshooting CBU 8-1.

"We really competed hard and displayed a lot of passion and grit tonight," Cissell said. "This team continues to prove they are road warriors, always playing physical in these road matches."

One consistency across both halves was senior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson keeping the Lancers at nil. Jackson claimed her eight shutout, an all-time GCU record for a single season. The shutout was her 15th in two seasons at GCU, also giving her the Lopes' all-time career shutout record. With postseason games still ahead, Jackson certainly cemented her legacy as one of the best goalkeepers in program history.

In other good news from the match, freshman forward Reese Clem and senior defender Aleisha Ganief returned from injuries in reserve roles. Both players started most of their previous appearances and provide a massive boost to the playoff roster.

GCU was dealt five yellow cards on the night, speaking to the tenacity and chippy nature of the match. Senior Mayu Yamamoto, junior Payton Fisher and Clem all checked in for a yellow, while the GCU bench added two more. The previous high for yellows this season was two.

To manage an 11-5-2 overall record was a tall task this season. GCU scored just 23 goals during the regular season. In comparison, former Lopes forward and current pro Gianna Gourley scored 21 last season. But in both seasons, the Lopes finished with the same win total (11).

The "soccer family" relied on its elite back line of defense and goalkeeper to hold opponents to 14 goals in 18 matches. Those efforts earned GCU its all-time program record for goals against average, clocking in at 0.78 goals allowed per game to rank in the national top 50.

GCU will get 10 days of recuperation and preparation before it battles Seattle U or Utah Tech for a chance to return to the WAC Tournament championship match. The semifinal match will be at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) and broadcasted on ESPN+.