Crisler's early strike extends unbeaten streak to 4

Thursday, August 29

Honolulu, Hawaii

7:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

3-1-1, 0-0-0

North Dakota State

3-1-1, 0-0-0

North Dakota St.

Grand Canyon

8/29/2024 10:44:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Lopes start 2-match week in Hawaii by handing North Dakota State its 1st loss of year

By: Braden Dohrmann

HONOLULU – A fourth-minute goal from graduate forward Ellie Crisler was the difference for Grand Canyon, as the Lopes began their Hawaii trip with a 1-0 win over North Dakota State on Thursday night.

GCU (3-1-1) made the trip to Honolulu with many objectives in mind. Besides growing the team's culture and building lifelong memories for the entire GCU soccer family, the Lopes also aimed to get two victories out of the 6,000-mile round trip.

A neutral-site match with North Dakota State (3-1-1) brought plenty of adversity and challenges to the table. From 12 players being stuck in an elevator three hours pre-match to Preseason All-WAC picks Aleisha Ganief and AJ Loera being out with injury. The Bison also had played on the same field two days earlier, beating Hawaii Pacific 1-0.

GCU was ready for the moment. The first half was dominated by great passing, brilliant touches and offensive rhythm.

In the fourth minute of the match, Lopes senior midfielder Bella Piete sent a perfect through ball to junior forward Payton Fisher. On first touch, Fisher crossed the ball into the penalty area, where Crisler managed to get her right foot on the ball and sneaked it past the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.

"Payton and I have great chemistry on the field, probably because we're roommates," Crisler said. "Any time I see her with an opportunity to cross the ball, I make my way to the box and want to put every cross of hers in the goal."

The second half was not as pretty, but it still saw the Lopes remain calm and composed without playing into North Dakota State's physical nature.

Two yellow cards were given to the Bison during the match, which included 19 fouls among the opponents. North Dakota State certainly came out with energy and planned on out-toughing GCU.

"North Dakota State is a really hard-working team," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said. "It was probably the most physical match we've played in all season. Ultimately, a lot of positives, shutting out an undefeated team and getting ourselves a great team goal."

GCU senior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson was not awarded any saves on the stat sheet but made many great plays on crucial crosses and corner kicks. The Lopes' backline held strong, stopping many Bison attacks before they began and starting several offensive runs with its passing.

GCU will face Air Force on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium to complete the Lopes' trip in Hawaii.