Pivotal 2nd half earns Lopes victory at San José

Sunday, October 5

San Jose, Calif.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

San José State

Photo by: Braden Dohrmann

10/5/2025 4:58:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Hofstetter's 4th goal of season proves to be difference in MW win

By: Braden Dohrmann

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A much-needed contest went to Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon, as the Lopes knocked off San José State 1-0 on the road.

GCU (7-5, 2-2 Mountain West) earned three important points, boosting them to second place in the MW standings.

After the Lopes had their eighth 0-0 draw through the first 45 minutes this season, GCU struck immediately in the second half for a lead that held up for the win.

Three minutes into the second half, the Lopes jumped on an errant Spartan pass in the GCU attacking third. Sophomore transfers Ellie Johannes and Tatum Hofstetter did the rest. Johannes jumped the pass, hitting Hofstetter with a slide ball, giving her possession in front of the goal. Hofstetter placed the ball inside the near-side post for the goal, recording her second game-winner of the season.

"The message at halftime was to find any way to win this match," Hofstetter said. "Ellie gave me a great pass and I stayed calm, cool, collected and did my job: scoring goals."

Hofstetter leads the team in goals with four and is tied for the lead in points with Johannes at nine.

"I have really put an emphasis on placement with my shots, and it has worked out well for me so far this season," Hofstetter said.

GCU junior goalkeeper Emma Knack got back to her winning ways, making another eight saves for her sixth shutout of the season and first MW shutout. Knack extends her MW lead in saves with 87 on the season with an .853 save percentage.

Lopes senior midfielder Grace Bartlett made her second consecutive start, the first two starts of her collegiate career. Junior defender Kendall Kiefer appeared in her first match as a Lope since transferred to GCU for the 2024 season and recovering from a knee injury over the past year. Kiefer, the daughter of GCU men's soccer head coach George Kiefer, had not played in a match since October of 2023 with South Florida.

Lopes associate head coach Blake Reynolds stepped in as interim head coach over the week when head coach Chris Cissell left Phoenix for the birth of his grandson, McCoy.

"You could tell our legs were gone near the end of this one," Reynolds said. "We spent 48 hours at elevation in Reno and then drove straight to San José. it was a long week. I was happy to see the girls grind it out and get these much-needed three points.

"We wanted to win this one for the big man (Cissell), and I was super proud of everyone on our staff stepping up this week."

The Lopes are amid their toughest part of the schedule, hitting the road for two more matches next week at New Mexico on Thursday and at UNLV on Sunday.