Lopes aim for back-to-back WAC Tournament titles

Saturday, November 9

Abilene, Texas

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

California Baptist

11/8/2024 6:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

GCU faces CBU in pursuit of 3rd NCAA tournament bid in 4 years

By: Braden Dohrmann

Saturday, Nov. 9 \| 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| WAC Tournament championship Elmer Gray Stadium \| Abilene, Texas

	(4) CALIFORNIA BAPTIST LANCERS (9-6-3, 3-3-1 WAC)	vs.	(2) GRAND CANYON LOPES (11-5-3, 5-1-1 WAC)

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ABILENE, Texas — Grand Canyon faces California Baptist on Saturday for the second time in two weeks, this time with a WAC Tournament championship and NCAA tournament berth on the line.

AT A GLANCE

The Lopes enter Saturday's WAC Tournament championship match as the No. 2 seed, coming off a first-round bye and a semifinal win against No. 3 seed Seattle U.
GCU knocked off Seattle U via a penalty kick shootout on Wednesday night. After a 0-0 tie through 110 minutes of regulation and extra time, the Lopes won 4-2 on penalty kicks.
The Lopes won the 2023 WAC Tournament and are now in the title match for the third time in four years.
GCU has never lost a WAC Tournament championship (2021, 2023).
The Lopes are responsible for Seattle U's last three conference losses, knocking the Redhawks out of the 2023 and 2024 WAC Tournaments.
GCU senior DeAira Jackson won 2024 WAC Goalkeeper of the Year.
Jackson has accumulated nine shutouts on the season, breaking the previous all-time GCU single-season record of seven.
Jackson also broke the GCU all-time shutout record, now sitting at 16. She did so in just two seasons in Phoenix.
Jackson was joined on the All-WAC first team by senior midfielder Bella Piete and senior defender Sidney Roberts.
Senior defender Destinee Duran-Wise and junior midfielder AJ Loera were on the All-WAC second team.
GCU is 11-1-1 when it scores a goal.
This is the Lopes' first trip to Texas this season, when they have played host to three Texas universities.
GCU's goals against average of 0.73 would be the program all-time record if the season ended today.
The Division I-era record came last season when the Lopes had a 0.91 goals against average. The all-time record came in 2010 (0.82).

LAST TIME OUT

GCU beat Seattle U 0-0 (4-2 on PKs) in the WAC Tournament semifinal on Wednesday in Abilene.
The Lopes only allowed two shots on goal in regulation and two overtimes.
Seven starters played the full 110 minutes in the semifinal win.

WAC TOURNAMENT

No. 3 seed Seattle knocked off No. 6 seed Utah Tech in the first round of the WAC Tournament. The Redhawks fell in the semifinals to No. 2 seed GCU.
No. 4 seed California Baptist beat No. 5 seed Tarleton State in the first match of the tournament. The Lancers beat top seed Utah Valley 3-2 in the semifinals.
After an undefeated conference regular season, Utah Valley lost in the semifinals again. Their last WAC loss was in the 2023 tournament semifinals, when they came up short vs GCU.

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA BAPTIST

California Baptist beat No. 6 seed Utah Tech and No. 1 seed Utah Valley to reach the WAC title match.
The Lancers trailed the Wolverines 2-0 at half, reeling off three unanswered in the final 30 minutes of the match.
This is the 16th all-time meeting between California Baptist and GCU, with the Lancers holding a 7-4-4 advantage in results.
GCU last played California Baptist exactly two weeks prior to Saturday's championship bout, in Riverside on Oct. 26, 2024, when the teams tied 0-0.
California Baptist senior Lauryn White leads the team in points (13) with six goals and an assist.
Lancers goalkeeper Mikayla O'Brien has 51 saves on the season with a .836 save percentage.

WHAT'S NEXT?

A win Saturday would clinch GCU's third NCAA tournament berth in four years.
A potential NCAA tournament first-round match would take place Nov. 15, 16 or 17.