Tie keeps GCU in 3rd in tight MW race

Thursday, October 16

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

8-6-1, 3-3-1

Wyoming

7-4-5, 2-2-3

Wyoming

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

10/16/2025 10:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Clem delivers team-high 5th goal on Smith assist in 1st half

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon is looking for a way to thrust up the Mountain West women's soccer standings.

On Thursday night, the Lopes at least kept moving the right direction.

Phoenix, AZ Oct. 16, 2025 : The Lopes tie Wyoming 1-1 at GCU Stadium. David Kadlubowski/GCU.

Phoenix, AZ Oct. 16, 2025 : The Lopes tie Wyoming 1-1 at GCU Stadium. David Kadlubowski/GCU.

GCU picked up a MW standings point with a 1-1 tie against Wyoming that kept the Lopes in third place with three regular-season games remaining. GCU and Air Force are now tied with 10 points, which is two points behind second-place New Mexico, but the Falcons and Lobos each have four remaining games to the Lopes' three.

Entering Thursday, GCU (8-6-1, 3-3-1 MW) was one of four winning teams in the nation without a draw this season. The Lopes' 1-0 lead lasted nearly 38 minutes before the Cowgirls tied the game in the 62nd minute on a free-kick set piece.

Wyoming, which takes a Mountain West-best 15 shots per match, surpassed that average in the first half Thursday and wound up outshooting GCU 26-10 for the match with most shots being nonthreatening from outside the box.

"We needed to get all three points," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said. "Wyoming came in one point underneath us with the same amount of games played and now they leave still one point under. But we're in a tough spot. With three games left, I'd think we're going to need to win two games to get in the playoffs."

San Diego State and Utah State are tied for fourth place with Wyoming at nine points, but the Aztecs and Aggies each trail GCU by a point with one more remaining conference game than the Lopes. GCU is idle on Oct. 30, the last day of regular-season play before the conference's top six teams advance to the Mountain West Championship.

Phoenix, AZ Oct. 16, 2025 : The Lopes tie Wyoming 1-1 at GCU Stadium. David Kadlubowski/GCU.

"It's a little frustrating because I feel like they couldn't score on us in the run of play," GCU senior forward Hannah Smith said. "It's better to come out of here with one point than zero. We're still in the running, and I still really believe in this team that we can go win those last three games and get ourselves in the Mountain West tournament."

GCU has been the nation's second-winningest road team at 6-3, but its home struggles continued Thursday night. Wyoming took 12 of the match's first 13 shots over 16 minutes.

All but one of those attempts came from outside the box and were often blocked or off-target, but the Cowgirls did put the Mountain West's leading scorer, Alyssa Glover, on the doorstep of an open-net chance. Her finish popped over the goal in the 14th minute.

GCU had a tremendous backfield build-up to its goal, working through several players before freshman Mai-Helen Nguyen Todnem found Smith just shy of midfield.

Smith, the team's fastest player, dribbled past a Cowgirl down the right sideline. There were still three Wyoming defenders in the box, but Smith's cross zipped by two of them to connect with sophomore forward Reese Clem for a one-touch, 12-yard finish on the short side.

"We picked it off and then sustained possession, which is awesome," Smith said. "The biggest thing I've been working on is my confidence. I was trusting myself in that moment. I looked up and saw Reese, and she's always really good with those near-post runs and putting her body on the line."

Phoenix, AZ Oct. 16, 2025 : The Lopes tie Wyoming 1-1 at GCU Stadium. David Kadlubowski/GCU.

Clem's team-high fifth goal of the season put the Lopes ahead 1-0 in the 24th minute. It was her second consecutive game with a goal after she netted the game-winner in the 80th minute Sunday at UNLV.

"Our goal was one of the best goals we've scored all year," Cissell said. "I was really proud of that. That was one of our best team goals. Hannah Smith just torched her girl on the right side, and kudos to Reese. That was not an easy finish. That was a great goal, but we need to see more of those."

Wyoming's tying goal came because of a one-on-one battle for the ball that resulted in a Lopes foul and Cowgirls free kick. Glover lined a pass into the center of the box, where sophomore midfielder Hadley Linder scored her first goal of the season on a header that bounced and went off the right post.

GCU freshman defender Taylor Gerst marked Glover most of the match to deny her scoring opportunities. That allowed GCU to be in position to steal a win late, when the Lopes earned their first three corner kicks of the match over the final 10 minutes.

GCU's closest chance came when senior midfielder AJ Loera's shot from outside the box was deflected over the goal in the 84th minute. Two minutes later, Clem and sophomore forward Ellie Johannes were on the verge of a threat before an offsides call. Two minutes prior, Lopes junior midifelder Madison Hamm's shot deep in the box was snuffed by diving Wyoming goalkeeper Haley Bartel.

While most of the shots were from long distance, GCU junior goalkeeper Emma Knack included some diving efforts in her nine saves. It was the fifth time this season that a Lopes opponent has taken more than 20 shots.

"It was kind of a strange one because we walked into halftime feeling like we were winning," Wyoming head coach Josh Purdum told gowyo.com. "We controlled a lot of the game, created a lot more chances and gave ourselves an opportunity to put some things away and didn't early. They took their one chance and did. At halftime the mood was great, we knew we were going to get one, it was just a matter of when."

GCU will play its final road game Sunday at Fresno State (5-5-5, 2-3-2 MW).