Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus UC Irvine on August 14, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 4
W Soccer
vs UC Irvine
L 1-4
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Sunday, August 18
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
1-1-0, 0-0-0
3
vs
0
Charleston Southern
0-2-0, 0-0-0
1
2
F
Charleston So.
0
0
0
Grand Canyon
1
2
3
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Quick attack progression nets 3-0 win
8/18/2024 10:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro
GCU unleashes 20 shots, gets goals from newcomer duo of Clem, Crisler
The type of start that Grand Canyon women's soccer desired for its season was delayed but not denied.
The Lopes dominated the ball until they dominated the scoreboard Sunday night, using a 20-6 shots advantage to down Charleston Southern 3-0 at GCU Stadium.
Much of the Lopes' frustration with lack of offense, a fateful sequence and missing players to injury in a 1-0 Thursday night loss to Arizona disappeared as quick as a wet spot on the field under the desert sun.
GCU lost 75% of last season's goal scoring and is implementing a new 3-5-2 formation, but the Lopes showed immediate progress when junior forward Maddie Brady applied goal pressure in Sunday night's first half-minute.
Less than four minutes later, the Lopes executed an attack as flawlessly as a practice drill for the season's first goal.
GCU junior midfielder AJ Loera struck a through ball 50 yards down the right side for senior defender Destinee Duran-Wise, who was behind the defense with freshman forward Reese Clem. Duran-Wise's cross hit Clem in stride at the top of the goal box, where the team's lone starting freshman beat the goalkeeper to the left with her left-foot touch.
"I was already super psyched about starting and I just kept telling myself after every game (two exhibitions and an opener), 'I need to score this game,' " said Clem, who is from near Denver in Littleton, Colorado. "It finally came, and it was super exciting.
"I just remember peeling out super wide and I was far ahead of the defender who was marking me. I was like, 'I am going to get this ball.' I was screaming, 'DD, cross the ball in!' It was a perfect ball. This is where it starts. More to come."
It was the lift the Lopes needed after being shut out in Thursday night's opener, prompting the bench to scream, 'That's our freshman!' after Clem scored an early momentum changer in Sunday night's win.
"I knew that Reese was going to come in and be an instrumental player to us," said Loera, who is also from near Denver in Thornton. "It's so awesome to see her second career game as a freshman, she already gets on the scoreboard. She's a fantastic player, and she's only going to go up from here."
But even with six first-half corner kicks, GCU could not add to the 1-0 lead in the first half. The Lopes held a 6-2 shot advantage at halftime after multiple strong chances.
Senior midfielder Bella Piete went up the middle to senior midfielder Brenna Alderson for a shot over the goal in the 11th minute. A long Loera shot required a diving save by Big South Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year Jenna Moran in the 33rd minute. Sophomore midfielder Madison Hamm chipped a ball to senior midfielder Ani Jensen, who rocketed a shot right of the goal.
The Lopes continued to dominate ball control and create opportunities that they could not finish for 70 minutes between goals.
GCU junior defender Jayden Sanders set up Clem for a one-on-one threat, but she was taken down in the box without a foul call. Brady had back-to-back shots in the box blocked in the 54th minute. Duran-Wise crosses set up consecutive Clem and Brady headers that were both stopped.
Finally, in the 74th minute, the Lopes capitalized on their first corner kick of the second half. Jensen used her left foot to find senior defender Aleisha Ganief charging the middle of the box for a header to the left side and a 2-0 lead. Ganief has become an end-to-end threat as GCU's leading returning scorer after moving up from the defense to score four goals late last season.
Three minutes after Ganief scored, the Lopes stole possession in the backfield with Jensen tapping the ball back to Hamm in the midfield. Hamm sent it ahead to graduate forward Ellie Crisler, who could not play in the opener because of injury after transferring from Division II program Lee.
Crisler, another Coloradoan from Monument, crossed over her defender and launched a 16-yard missile into the upper-right net for the 3-0 lead.
"That was a bomb," Cissell said. "We got the shutout, which is a goal we wanted. We're going to take pride in our defense this year with the backs that we have and our goalkeeper.
"I thought our passing and our playmaking was really, really good. We got some double assists that were earned because we were knocking it and pinging it and playing it so quickly."
GCU will face its third Big 12 opponent in four matches, including its Aug. 10 scrimmage against ASU, when it plays Thursday night at Utah, which beat Gonzaga 2-1 in its season opener.
The Lopes had more of the look they expected Sunday night with Crisler and another graduate transfer, Phoenix native Alex Sampson, making their GCU debuts after training camp injuries.
The Lopes' 20 shots came from 13 players with nine players each recording one shot on goal. The back line held up with senior defender Sidney Roberts playing all 90 minutes and senior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson making two saves for her eighth GCU shutout.
"We're all getting used to a new formation and trying to figure it out," Loera said. "Implementing it was so much better than what we were doing last game. It showed by the result, but it also showed by our energy. We were operating the system like it should be, and that's so nice to see, especially with a new team."
The Lopes dominated the ball until they dominated the scoreboard Sunday night, using a 20-6 shots advantage to down Charleston Southern 3-0 at GCU Stadium.
Much of the Lopes' frustration with lack of offense, a fateful sequence and missing players to injury in a 1-0 Thursday night loss to Arizona disappeared as quick as a wet spot on the field under the desert sun.
GCU lost 75% of last season's goal scoring and is implementing a new 3-5-2 formation, but the Lopes showed immediate progress when junior forward Maddie Brady applied goal pressure in Sunday night's first half-minute.
Less than four minutes later, the Lopes executed an attack as flawlessly as a practice drill for the season's first goal.
GCU junior midfielder AJ Loera struck a through ball 50 yards down the right side for senior defender Destinee Duran-Wise, who was behind the defense with freshman forward Reese Clem. Duran-Wise's cross hit Clem in stride at the top of the goal box, where the team's lone starting freshman beat the goalkeeper to the left with her left-foot touch."I was already super psyched about starting and I just kept telling myself after every game (two exhibitions and an opener), 'I need to score this game,' " said Clem, who is from near Denver in Littleton, Colorado. "It finally came, and it was super exciting.
"I just remember peeling out super wide and I was far ahead of the defender who was marking me. I was like, 'I am going to get this ball.' I was screaming, 'DD, cross the ball in!' It was a perfect ball. This is where it starts. More to come."
It was the lift the Lopes needed after being shut out in Thursday night's opener, prompting the bench to scream, 'That's our freshman!' after Clem scored an early momentum changer in Sunday night's win.
"I knew that Reese was going to come in and be an instrumental player to us," said Loera, who is also from near Denver in Thornton. "It's so awesome to see her second career game as a freshman, she already gets on the scoreboard. She's a fantastic player, and she's only going to go up from here."But even with six first-half corner kicks, GCU could not add to the 1-0 lead in the first half. The Lopes held a 6-2 shot advantage at halftime after multiple strong chances.
Senior midfielder Bella Piete went up the middle to senior midfielder Brenna Alderson for a shot over the goal in the 11th minute. A long Loera shot required a diving save by Big South Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year Jenna Moran in the 33rd minute. Sophomore midfielder Madison Hamm chipped a ball to senior midfielder Ani Jensen, who rocketed a shot right of the goal.
The Lopes continued to dominate ball control and create opportunities that they could not finish for 70 minutes between goals.
GCU junior defender Jayden Sanders set up Clem for a one-on-one threat, but she was taken down in the box without a foul call. Brady had back-to-back shots in the box blocked in the 54th minute. Duran-Wise crosses set up consecutive Clem and Brady headers that were both stopped.
Finally, in the 74th minute, the Lopes capitalized on their first corner kick of the second half. Jensen used her left foot to find senior defender Aleisha Ganief charging the middle of the box for a header to the left side and a 2-0 lead. Ganief has become an end-to-end threat as GCU's leading returning scorer after moving up from the defense to score four goals late last season.
Three minutes after Ganief scored, the Lopes stole possession in the backfield with Jensen tapping the ball back to Hamm in the midfield. Hamm sent it ahead to graduate forward Ellie Crisler, who could not play in the opener because of injury after transferring from Division II program Lee.Crisler, another Coloradoan from Monument, crossed over her defender and launched a 16-yard missile into the upper-right net for the 3-0 lead.
"That was a bomb," Cissell said. "We got the shutout, which is a goal we wanted. We're going to take pride in our defense this year with the backs that we have and our goalkeeper.
"I thought our passing and our playmaking was really, really good. We got some double assists that were earned because we were knocking it and pinging it and playing it so quickly."
GCU will face its third Big 12 opponent in four matches, including its Aug. 10 scrimmage against ASU, when it plays Thursday night at Utah, which beat Gonzaga 2-1 in its season opener.
The Lopes had more of the look they expected Sunday night with Crisler and another graduate transfer, Phoenix native Alex Sampson, making their GCU debuts after training camp injuries.
The Lopes' 20 shots came from 13 players with nine players each recording one shot on goal. The back line held up with senior defender Sidney Roberts playing all 90 minutes and senior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson making two saves for her eighth GCU shutout.
"We're all getting used to a new formation and trying to figure it out," Loera said. "Implementing it was so much better than what we were doing last game. It showed by the result, but it also showed by our energy. We were operating the system like it should be, and that's so nice to see, especially with a new team."
Team Stats
CSU
GCU
Goals
0
3
Shots
6
20
Shots on Goal
2
9
Saves
6
2
Corners
1
8
Fouls
6
7
Scoring Plays
Reese Clem (1)
Assisted By: Destinee Duran-Wise , AJ Loera
GOAL by GCU Clem, Reese Assist by Duran-Wise, Destinee and Loera, AJ.
04:18
Aleisha Ganief (1)
Assisted By: Ani Jensen
GOAL by GCU Ganief, Aleisha Assist by Jensen, Ani.
74:22
Ellie Crisler (1)
Assisted By: Madison Hamm , Ani Jensen
GOAL by GCU Crisler, Ellie Assist by Hamm, Madison and Jensen, Ani.
77:17
Game Leaders
Players
fwd
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
mid
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
2
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
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