Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Arizona on August 12, 2026 , Win , 2, to, 0
W Soccer
vs Arizona
W 2-0
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wednesday, August 12
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
1-0-0, 0-0-0
2
vs
0
Arizona
0-1-0, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Canyon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Delayed but dominant, GCU downs Arizona 2-0
8/12/2026 11:54:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro
Lopes' Guzman, Rubano score 1st career goals in lighting-delayed opener
Grand Canyon could not wait for its season to start Wednesday night, but then it had to wait.
Area lightning delayed kickoff against Arizona by 75 minutes and paused the first half for 30 minutes, but it was worth the wait when the Lopes slept easy on a 2-0 against the Wildcats at GCU Stadium.
At an hour when GCU could normally have hit the hay, it hit Arizona with a pair of early second-half goals to put a season-opening win to bed.
"I felt like we definitely deserve the win tonight," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said after the game ended at 11:15 p.m. "We were the better team in all aspects."
The victory was a dramatic flip from last season's 5-2 loss at Arizona because the Lopes turned first-half possession control into a 7-1 shot advantage in Wednesday's first 21 minutes of the second half.
Nearly 3 1/2 hours after the game was intended to start, GCU emerged energetically with pressure to start the second half. Lopes junior midfielder Sabrina Guzman essentially scored on a give-and-go in the 47th minute when she chipped a ball for right winger Amanda Adams, the touted junior who transferred from Houston.
Adams put a speed burst on her defender to create space for a cross she zipped to the box, where Guzman had raced to fill the middle and nail a one-timer into the net's left side for her first career goal. The nearby presence of scoring threat Ellie Johannes distracted the defense to leave Guzman free.
"I was just very glad I was able to put it away," said Guzman, whose goal celebration was dedicated to a cousin, Tony Hernandez, who recently passed away. "It kind of felt like practice. We've been practicing that for the past month. Executing it in the game put it all together. It relieved the pressure."
GCU kept up the pressure with a pair of blocked shots before defender Mai-Helen Todnem Nguyen created an opportunity with a center breakaway covering half the field. The Norwegian sophomore started the second half in what Cissell called her best game as a Lope.
Todnem Nguyen drew an Arizona yellow card, putting Guzman about 35 feet straightaway from goal for a free kick.
Guzman used arc again to pass deep into the box, where a Wildcats header put the ball at Lopes junior midfielder Sophia Rubano's foot with an empty net ahead for her. She nailed her first career goal to make it a 2-0 GCU lead in the 55th minute. Rubano redshirted 2023 at GCU and then played two years at an Italian university before returning to the Lopes late this summer.
"I'm so grateful God brought me back here," Rubano said. "The team is just hopping. We came out strong, and I'm so proud of the girls.
"It's so nostalgic being here, but it's also something new. It's so exciting to build something new with this group of girls and motivate each other every day. We've got grit. I'm so excited to see what we do."
Playing a 3-5-2 formation, the Lopes defense kept the pressure off senior goalkeeper Emma Knack, who made an important first-half save to avoid momentum for Arizona. In the 38th minute amid rain, Knack deflected a shot just wide enough for the ball to carom back into play off the goalpost rather than going into the net.
Between the exhibition at New Mexico State and the season opener, the Lopes have posted two shutouts and allowed two shots on goal.
"We're trying to play a very attack-oriented 3-5-2 and get our wingers up really high," Cissell said. "And then our three center mids, the way we're playing them right now, we only have one defensive one and two attack you."
The intention is for GCU to control possession, which it did in the first half. However, its connections were off, and the coaches showed five plays that were a final-third pass away from breaking Arizona.
The Lopes did not put a shot on goal until the Guzman goal in the 47th minute.
But GCU's defense did not allow Arizona to put a shot on goal in the second half until the 88th minute, when Knack made a diving save. Otherwise, senior Madison Hamm, sophomore Elle Stanley and graduate Adelaide Wolf never left the field to keep a clean sheet from the back line with right-side help from sophomore Piper Carlson.
A pair of freshmen, forward Makayla Gwynn and midfielder Lia D'Afonseca, made GCU debuts off the bench. Lopes track team sprinter Hannah Smith sped into match action four days after her first practice came because she was granted a fifth year of soccer eligibility.
GCU, 1-0 for the first time since 2023, stays home for its next three matches – Aug. 20 vs. Buffalo, Aug. 23 vs. Texas and Aug. 27 vs. CSUN.
"We're building on the saying that Cissell always says, that culture wins championships," Guzman said. "We're building it every single day. It was awesome to have our girls have energy from the bench to the people on the field. We all played together, and that's going to take us further than anything. Being together is going to make great memories for us."
Area lightning delayed kickoff against Arizona by 75 minutes and paused the first half for 30 minutes, but it was worth the wait when the Lopes slept easy on a 2-0 against the Wildcats at GCU Stadium.
At an hour when GCU could normally have hit the hay, it hit Arizona with a pair of early second-half goals to put a season-opening win to bed.
"I felt like we definitely deserve the win tonight," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said after the game ended at 11:15 p.m. "We were the better team in all aspects."
The victory was a dramatic flip from last season's 5-2 loss at Arizona because the Lopes turned first-half possession control into a 7-1 shot advantage in Wednesday's first 21 minutes of the second half.
Nearly 3 1/2 hours after the game was intended to start, GCU emerged energetically with pressure to start the second half. Lopes junior midfielder Sabrina Guzman essentially scored on a give-and-go in the 47th minute when she chipped a ball for right winger Amanda Adams, the touted junior who transferred from Houston.
Adams put a speed burst on her defender to create space for a cross she zipped to the box, where Guzman had raced to fill the middle and nail a one-timer into the net's left side for her first career goal. The nearby presence of scoring threat Ellie Johannes distracted the defense to leave Guzman free.
"I was just very glad I was able to put it away," said Guzman, whose goal celebration was dedicated to a cousin, Tony Hernandez, who recently passed away. "It kind of felt like practice. We've been practicing that for the past month. Executing it in the game put it all together. It relieved the pressure."
GCU kept up the pressure with a pair of blocked shots before defender Mai-Helen Todnem Nguyen created an opportunity with a center breakaway covering half the field. The Norwegian sophomore started the second half in what Cissell called her best game as a Lope.
Todnem Nguyen drew an Arizona yellow card, putting Guzman about 35 feet straightaway from goal for a free kick.
Guzman used arc again to pass deep into the box, where a Wildcats header put the ball at Lopes junior midfielder Sophia Rubano's foot with an empty net ahead for her. She nailed her first career goal to make it a 2-0 GCU lead in the 55th minute. Rubano redshirted 2023 at GCU and then played two years at an Italian university before returning to the Lopes late this summer.
"I'm so grateful God brought me back here," Rubano said. "The team is just hopping. We came out strong, and I'm so proud of the girls.
"It's so nostalgic being here, but it's also something new. It's so exciting to build something new with this group of girls and motivate each other every day. We've got grit. I'm so excited to see what we do."
Playing a 3-5-2 formation, the Lopes defense kept the pressure off senior goalkeeper Emma Knack, who made an important first-half save to avoid momentum for Arizona. In the 38th minute amid rain, Knack deflected a shot just wide enough for the ball to carom back into play off the goalpost rather than going into the net.
Between the exhibition at New Mexico State and the season opener, the Lopes have posted two shutouts and allowed two shots on goal.
"We're trying to play a very attack-oriented 3-5-2 and get our wingers up really high," Cissell said. "And then our three center mids, the way we're playing them right now, we only have one defensive one and two attack you."
The intention is for GCU to control possession, which it did in the first half. However, its connections were off, and the coaches showed five plays that were a final-third pass away from breaking Arizona.
The Lopes did not put a shot on goal until the Guzman goal in the 47th minute.
But GCU's defense did not allow Arizona to put a shot on goal in the second half until the 88th minute, when Knack made a diving save. Otherwise, senior Madison Hamm, sophomore Elle Stanley and graduate Adelaide Wolf never left the field to keep a clean sheet from the back line with right-side help from sophomore Piper Carlson.
A pair of freshmen, forward Makayla Gwynn and midfielder Lia D'Afonseca, made GCU debuts off the bench. Lopes track team sprinter Hannah Smith sped into match action four days after her first practice came because she was granted a fifth year of soccer eligibility.
GCU, 1-0 for the first time since 2023, stays home for its next three matches – Aug. 20 vs. Buffalo, Aug. 23 vs. Texas and Aug. 27 vs. CSUN.
"We're building on the saying that Cissell always says, that culture wins championships," Guzman said. "We're building it every single day. It was awesome to have our girls have energy from the bench to the people on the field. We all played together, and that's going to take us further than anything. Being together is going to make great memories for us."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerTeam Stats
ARI
GCU
Goals
0
2
Shots
9
10
Shots on Goal
2
3
Saves
1
2
Corners
7
1
Fouls
12
11
Scoring Plays
Sabrina Guzman (1)
Assisted By: Amanda Adams
GOAL by GCU Guzman, Sabrina Assist by Adams, Amanda.
46:43
Sophia Rubano (1)
GOAL by GCU Rubano, Sophia.
54:58
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
fwd
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Thursday, August 13
Sunday, August 09
Friday, August 07
Friday, August 07