GCU wins WAC opener on late PK goal

Saturday, September 28

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

7-4-1, 1-0-0

Utah Tech

3-3-4, 0-1-0

Utah Tech

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Nate Cochran

9/28/2024 10:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Loera game-winner adds to Duran-Wise tying goal in home victory vs. Utah Tech

By: Braden Dohrmann

Grand Canyon began its final tour through the WAC with a 2-1 win over Utah Tech on Saturday night at GCU Stadium.

GCU (7-4-1, 1-0 WAC) gave up an uncharacteristic early goal but battled its way back for three points in the WAC standings, as veteran players came through on the offensive end.

Utah Tech (3-3-4, 0-1 WAC) came to play, scoring a quick goal in the fourth minute off the right foot of sophomore forward Ella Rusick. After the Lopes' first shot on goal from senior defender Destinee Duran-Wise, the Trailblazers countered quickly with just four passes to get the ball into the box for the goal.

Duran-Wise had no plans for a halftime deficit when she tied things up in the 31st minute. After a throw-in and multiple deflections, sophomore midfielder Madison Hamm found the senior open 15 yards north of the box. With no defender stepping up, Duran-Wise took a couple dribbles and fired a shot that went over the outstretched hands of the Utah Tech goalkeeper and into the back of the net. It was Duran-Wise's first goal this season and fourth of her career.

"(Assistant) Coach (Blake) Reynolds has been telling us to take extra touches when we can," Duran-Wise said. "In that moment, I decided to take an extra touch and ultimately took the shot, and it went in."

The second half was defensive-minded but, more often than not, controlled by GCU. The Lopes took multiple shots on goal in the second half, outshooting the Trailblazers 11-2 on goal for the night.

GCU's closest miss of the night came in the 59th minute when junior forward Payton Fisher put a header on goal. The ball deflected off the Trailblazer goalkeeper's hands and hit the bottom of the crossbar. When the ball landed, the crowd and GCU bench thought it hit the goal line, which would have given the Lopes the lead. But the referee signaled "no goal," which replays with camera angles confirmed.

In the 87th minute, GCU senior defender Aleisha Ganief was brought forward to play in the attacking third. She received a through ball and, in a physical play, Ganief got a shot off while the goalkeeper slid in for the stop. The shot was deflected, but Ganief was tackled in the box.

GCU was awarded a penalty kick and head coach Chris Cissell went with talented junior midfielder AJ Loera to take the shot. Loera confidently sent the PK to the bottom-right quadrant of the goal with the keeper guessing opposite, giving the Lopes the late lead and the eventual game-winner. It was her first goal oif the season and the first since she scored in her third career game in 2022.

"I thought AJ really stepped up with confidence," Cissell said. "She absolutely buried it and was ultimately happy for two more girls to get their first goals on the season."

The Lopes now have 11 different goal scorers and 14 different players with an assist.

"Resilient is the word I used with the team," Cissell said. "We gave up an early goal, which does not happen to us very often. But everything afterwards, I thought we really took it to them. Utah Tech is a good, hard-working team. They will have success in the WAC this year. However, we deserved this win, and I am happy with the result."

The Lopes will next host Abilene Christian on Oct. 3. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.