Aztecs' late comeback spoils MW opener

Thursday, September 25

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-4-0, 0-1-0

San Diego State

5-2-2, 1-0-0

San Diego St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Brayden Stenner

9/25/2025 9:53:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Hofstetter goal put GCU ahead at home in 2nd half

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon women's soccer was two-thirds of the way to having a GCU Stadium celebration as the first Lopes team to record a Mountain West win.

But San Diego State crashed the party with its own, dousing coach Mike Friesen with water when the Aztecs' comeback 2-1 win marked his 200th career win on Thursday night.

San Diego State scored two late-match goals in a 3 1/2-minute span to spoil GCU's first night of Mountain West action.

The Lopes (5-4, 0-1 MW) scored a gorgeous goal in the 51st minute on a sophomore connection between forward Ellie Johannes and midfielder Tatum Hofstetter for Hofstetter's team-high third goal of the season.

With San Diego State (5-2-2, 1-0 MW) sending a 23-shot siege at GCU for the match, the Lopes' pursuit of a sixth shutout could not hold up. The Aztecs tied the score in the 68th minute and recorded the game-winner on a 71st-minute penalty kick.

"San Diego State honestly is going to be one of the very best teams in the conference," GCU head coach Chris Cissell said. "It was a good challenge for us in our very first Mountain West game. The thing we're disappointed is that we lost the lead at home, and the game-winning goal was what we feel like was a very soft penalty kick call."

The Aztecs, who have a six-match unbeaten streak, had shut out their previous three opponents and were headed there again when they held the Lopes to one shot on goal (junior midfielder Madison Hamm in the 16th minute) in the first half.

Tatum Hofstetter

Johannes, who took six of GCU's 18 shots, created the score when she dribbled upfield and swerved to the middle before using the outside of her right foot to send a through ball to Hofstetter.

The Scottsdale, Arizona, native beat the first defenders above the center of the box before firing a 20-yard shot low and inside the left post for the 1-0 lead less than six minutes into the second half.

"It's nice to be able to create 18 shots, but against a team like this, you've got to put more than four on goal," Cissell said. "I'm really proud of the goal we scored. It was a really good pass from Ellie, and Tatum finished that extremely well."

GCU's increased second-half pressure threatened to extend the lead repeatedly with Johannes' shots, a breakaway shot from sophomore midfielder Sabrina Guzman and a set piece that began with senior midfielder AJ Loera's long free kick, It arched to Johannes, whose pass went just ahead of senior forward Hannah Smith near the right post.

San Diego State put 11 shots on goal, including one that required a diving save from GCU junior goalkeeper Emma Knack in the 65th minute to preserve the 1-0 lead.

Shortly thereafter, Aztecs sophomore Emma Fuller scored her first career goal when junior forward Alexys Ocampo passed with three Lopes converging on her in the box. Fuller trailed and blasted a goal to the top right of the net.

GCU responded with freshman Mai-Helen Nguyen Todnem taking the team's 10th shot in the second half's first 25 minutes, doubling the Lopes' first-half shot total.

Kennedy Chambers

San Diego State countered into the box, where GCU senior defender Jayden Sanders was assessed a foul as she tried to avoid contact while being shielded from the ball. Aztecs sophomore Mia Lane made the penalty kick for a 2-0 lead in the 72nd minute.

"San Diego State is a great opponent, so we're going to take everything that happened and we're going to bounce back and come out even stronger on Sunday," Lopes graduate defender Kennedy Chambers said of a 7 p.m. MW home match against Air Force. "We're excited for Sunday.

"I love Emma (Knack). She's my rock back there, and I have her back, so we're going to try to get a shutout for her on Sunday."

GCU stayed within a score down the stretch after another Knack diving save and Sanders' hustle to chase down and stop a breakaway.

The Lopes' best chance to tie came in the 89th minute when freshman Taylor Gerst put a cross on the goal's doorstep, but no GCU player could reach it. Loera's last-minute shot was blocked to move San Diego State to 5-2-2 with its pair of losses coming to top-25 teams.

"We were really fighting and pushing at the end to at least tie it," Cissell said. "I wish we would start stronger. That is something we're trying to focus on. Why does it take us until the second half to get going? We've been a better team in the second half.

"They put us under a lot of pressure. Overall, we did pretty well, but there were times when we needed Emma to make big saves."