Offensive mayhem leads to 4-1 Lopes win

Sunday, August 25

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-1-1, 0-0-0

Little Rock

0-2-1, 0-0-0

Little Rock

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Jack Gilday

8/25/2024 11:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU fires 27 shots, 13 on goal, to make for hectic, exciting home victory

By: Braden Dohrmann

Grand Canyon put on an absolute offensive clinic Sunday night, taking down Little Rock 4-1 at GCU Stadium.

Three Lopes scored their first goals of the season with two of them also notching their first goals for GCU.

Things got off to a hot start, as the Lopes (2-1-1) wasted no time getting on the board. In the third minute, GCU senior midfielder Brenna Alderson split defenders and found senior teammate Bella Piete wide open just outside of the box. Piete, a midfielder, quickly turned to face the goal and finessed a left-footed strike over the goalkeeper's outstretched arms for a 1-0 lead.

"I feel like it's been coming for a while," said Piete, who started at San Diego last season. "My teammates were setting me up in really nice spots today, and I'm just glad that I could finish that one off."

S Phoenix, AZ - August 25, 2024, GCU Women's Soccer defeats Arkansas Little Rock 4-1 in a match at GCU Arena. (Photo by: Jayden Todd/GCU).

Phoenix, AZ - August 25, 2024, GCU Women's Soccer defeats Arkansas Little Rock 4-1 in a match at GCU Arena. (Photo by: Jayden Todd/GCU).

afe to say, there were plenty of nice setups on the night. The Lopes rattled off 27 shots, 13 of which were on goal. It marked quite the turnaround from taking just three shots in a Thursday night draw at Utah, and the score was far different for Little Rock that its Thursday 0-0 tie at Arizona State.

"We needed that," GCU head coach Chris Cissell said. "We've been waiting for that. We've known it's been coming. It's funny after a win like this, the girls are still a bit frustrated. They felt like they should've scored even more goals, with taking 27 shots and putting 13 on goal. I do think that's a good sign. There are no signs of complacency with this team."

Of the Lopes who took a shot, eight put at least one on target. But it would not be until the 32nd minute that the Lopes would score again, with this goal coming from senior forward Mayu Yamamoto.

GCU junior forward Hannah Smith drew defenders as she made her way into the box and dropped the ball off to Yamamoto, who evaded the lunging goalkeeper and left Phoenix, AZ - August 25, 2024, GCU Women's Soccer defeats Arkansas Little Rock 4-1 in a match at GCU Arena. (Photo by: Jayden Todd/GCU).

her with nothing but air between her and the back of the net. Yamamoto put it away, scoring for the first time since transferring from WAC foe Southern Utah this year.

The Lopes' third goal came in the 56th minute when graduate defender Alex Sampson found a streaking Ellie Crisler down the middle of the pitch. Crisler, a graduate forward, shot into a deflection that freshman forward Reese Clem was ready to receive. It was an easy putback goal for Clem, who became the first GCU player with two goals this season.

Crisler was credited with the assist and also put two shots off the crossbar to nearly add to the goal she scored in the previous home game.

In the 68th minute, Lopes senior midfielder Ani Jensen received a one-hop flip pass from freshman defender Samantha Amato and put the nail in the coffin with a goal for a 4-0 lead on Little Rock.

"We knew we were going to be scoring by committee this year," Cissell said. "After four games we have seven different goal-scorers and we are very hap Phoenix, AZ - August 25, 2024, GCU Women's Soccer defeats Arkansas Little Rock 4-1 in a match at GCU Arena. (Photo by: Jayden Todd/GCU).

py with that."

Four goal scorers and an additional four different players credited with assists made for a great night for the stat books and team vibes ahead of their highly anticipated trip to Hawaii.

"Hawaii is a business trip," finished Cissell. "We've got to go there and get two wins, but we also want to make sure when we are in a place like Hawaii we get the opportunity to see and enjoy some things and have some fun."

GCU will head to Honolulu this week to take on North Dakota State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) and Air Force on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Both matches will be at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium on Hawaii's campus.