No. 7 Utah State staves off GCU shot advantage

Sunday, September 22

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

6-4-1, 0-0-0

Utah State

9-0-1, 0-0-0

Utah St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

9/22/2024 10:27:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro

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Lopes record Aggies' largest shot deficit of season in home loss

By: Paul Coro

To knock off the nation's No. 7 team, Grand Canyon was going to need to do something to Utah State that usually is not done and take away what the Aggies usually do.

GCU became only the fourth team to score on Utah State and only the second opponent to outshoot the Aggies, but Utah State remained undefeated by matching its three-goal season average in the first half of a 3-1 victory Sunday night at GCU Stadium.

The Lopes defense only had allowed two goals in the previous six matches combined but were uncharacteristically vulnerable against Utah State (9-0-1), which had scored multiple goals in every match until a Thursday 0-0 tie against Washington State.

GCU (6-4-1) controlled the earlygoing of the match and nearly scored in the eighth minute when graduate Alex Sampson stole a defender's attempted clear and fired a left-footed shot from 16 yards. A diving save collided with a defender, but Lopes senior midfielder Bella Piete was shielded from getting to the carom.

"I thought we were unbelievable for the first 10-12 minutes," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said. "We were playing fantastic. We were executing the game plan. We were pinging it around them, knocking it around them. I thought Alex had scored and we're up 1-0 on the seventh-ranked team in the nation, but soccer has been brutal to us lately."

Phoenix, AZ Sept. 22, 2024 : GCU women's soccer drops their match 3-1 against Utah State at GCU Soccer Stadium. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ Sept. 22, 2024 : GCU women's soccer drops their match 3-1 against Utah State at GCU Soccer Stadium. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Possession flipped to the Utah State attack, which used a set piece on its first corner kick to score first in the 14th minute. Utah State sophomore midfielder Summer Diamond found graduate defender Kylie Olsen unmarked above the center of the 18-yard box, where she launched a blast into the right side of the net for an Aggies 1-0 lead.

Another GCU miscue 71 seconds later put the Lopes in a 2-0 hole when Utah State junior forward Tess Werts sped to steal a backfield pass before it reached Lopes senior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson. With Jackson pulled out for the pass, Werts took one dribble and put away her team-high fifth goal of the season for an Aggies 2-0 lead in the 16th minute.

"As good they are, and they are fantastic, we feel like we gave them their goals," Cissell said. "We've been unbelievable all year defensively."

But after being peppered with three consecutive Utah State shots, GCU did what the Aggies' first four opponents of the season (Pepperdine, Hawaii, Texas Tech and Utah) did not do – score.

On the Lopes' first corner kick of the match, senior midfielder Ani Jensen sent the ball to the goal's doorstep. Utah State headed it out to the top of the box, where junior midfielder AJ Loera booted a shot off the crossbar.

The rebound came down in the goal box to GCU senior defender Aleisha Ganief, who high-kicked the bouncing ball into the net for her second goal of the season. The Lopes became only the fourth opponent of 10 to score on the Aggies this season.

"If we perform at our highest level, we can hang with any team, and I think we showed that," said Loera, whose team tied Utah State 3-3 last season. "Yeah, it was a bad result, but we gave them a few goals. They finished their opportunities. We need to finish ours."

Utah State's lead was cut to 2-1 in the 32nd minute, but the one-goal margin was short-lived again.

Less than two minutes later, the Aggies benefited from a corner kick with freshman Austin Miller sending the ball into the box traffic. Utah State senior Addy Weichers' header was deflected by Jackson, but the ball fell to freshman Mia Mullenmeister put it away at close range for a 3-1 lead in the 34th minute.

GCU entered the match with the nation's No. 22 scoring defense after previously not allowing a multi-goal match this season.

The score stuck at 3-1 despite GCU getting most of the scoring opportunities in the second half, especially with a Utah State red card giving the Lopes a player advantage for the final 37 1/2 minutes.

"I never felt out of the game because we were playing so well," said Loera, who shared the team lead for shots (four) with Ganief. "We were on them the entire time."

GCU outshot Utah State 12-3 in the second half, when Lopes senior midfielder Brenna Alderson created the first opportunity by sending a long pass to junior forward Hannah Smith on a breakaway. Smith was held by Utah State's Alysia Butters, who drew a red card by holding up Smith to take velocity off her shot that was stopped.

In the 65th minute, GCU sophomore forward Aspen Whillock won a one-on-one battle in the corner for possession and sent a pass into the box. Junior forward Maddie Brady's header was tapped away, setting up a Lopes corner kick.
A set piece gave Alderson a top-of-the-box shot that went over the crossbar.

Aleisha Ganief

The Lopes took the shot advantage for the match at 12-11 when Loera's 68th-minute shot sailed side.

In the next 10 minutes, junior Payton Fisher set up Ganief header tries twice, but one went over the crossbar and the other required a diving save.

The last quality scoring chance came in the 79th minute when Brady led Smith with a pass into the box. Utah State goalkeeper Cora Brindle charged to the top of the box to take the ball off Smith's touch.

GCU outshot Utah State 19-12 for the Aggies' most shots yielded and their largest shot deficit of the season.

"We outshot the seventh-ranked team in the nation," Cissell said. "They're undefeated. I think we played every bit as good of soccer, but everything that matters in soccer is goals.

"We created so many scoring opportunities, and we just cannot finish. We went for it. We were playing in a 3-3-4 and a 3-4-3 for a while."

GCU will have a training week to prepare for the start of its WAC championship defense. The Lopes begin conference play Saturday night against Utah Tech at home.

"I'm really excited to go to WAC," Loera said. "Using this game as our last nonconference game is so good. I think we did so well this game. If we carry the momentum of what I think should've been a 1-1 game, we have a shot at winning the WAC, no doubt."

Utah Tech (3-2-4) began the season 3-0-2 before going winless over its past four matches. The Trailblazers, who tied Portland State 1-1 on Friday night, are 0-5-1 against GCU since joining the WAC in 2021.

"Everybody in the WAC is 0-0-0," Cissell said. "All that matters is WAC play. We've got the next seven games to try to win the conference championship and go to the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed."