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
Thursday, August 20
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
2-0-0, 0-0-0
2
vs
0
Buffalo
2-1-0, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Canyon | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Speed blows by Buffalo in ball-dominant win
8/20/2026 10:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Paul Coro
Lopes move to 2-0, beat Bulls 2-0 with 16-0 lead in 1st-half shots
With Grand Canyon rolling downhill like a pack of slalom skiers, the pitch at GCU Stadium felt like it had a pitch Thursday night.
Only the statistics were more dominant than the Lopes, who blazed by Buffalo 2-0 on a pair of first-half goals that came with a 16-0 shot advantage before halftime.
GCU banked its first 2-0 start since 2021 with forwards Amanda Adams and Ellie Johannes each scoring a goal in the first 17 minutes. The lopsided shot tally finished at 26-7 with the Lopes taking 15 shots on goal to the Bulls' two.
Tilting the field on Buffalo (2-1) with ball control and relentless attacks, GCU's speed created opportunities. That translated into a pair of goals on two-time Mid-American Goalkeeper of the year Lexie Thompson, who yielded two goals in a match three times last season.
"They just were relentless and persistent and kept battling for those goals," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said. "It was great to see. Even late in the game, the speed and the work rate we were showing late in the game was great to see."
GCU's aggression showed early when sophomore defender Piper Carlson powered over a Buffalo defender to center the ball for senior midfielder Sabrina Guzman, who nearly scored for the second consecutive match but had her shot deflected over the net.
Two minutes later, the Lopes took a 1-0 lead when a long Carlson overhead inbound was headed backward by sophomore defender Elle Stanley for Adams. In the 10th minute, Adams side-kicked a high bounce into the left side of the net for the Houston transfer's first GCU goal to go with two assists in two matches.
"This team has been everything that I've wanted," Adams said. "The coaches have given us an environment to be here for each other. I couldn't have done it without my teammates. The coaches really have given me confidence to come right in and contribute to my team. The constant support and constant enthusiasm have been amazing.
"I've been given so much freedom to create and be myself. That's such a huge thing for a player like myself. It's just a joy to be here."
Just 6 1/2 minutes later, Johannes followed her fellow striker with the Lopes' second goal. Again, the Lopes' brilliant lead-up play created the scoring opportunity with Guzman stealing a goalkeeper outlet and passing to Adams, whose shot was blocked and follow-up header was knocked away by Thompson. But Johannes connected on the carom, not letting the ball land before redirecting it past scrambling defenders and a recovering Thompson.
"Our coaches have always told us to come out hot and come out on fire," said Johannes, who scored her fourth goal in two GCU seasons. "The coaches gave us an amazing pep talk. We knew how successful it was to high-press UofA from the beginning (in last week's 2-0 win), so we came out with that same mentality."
The Lopes kept peppering the Bulls with upfield pressure and the depth of using seven first-half reserves to maintain the pace.
Guzman nearly pivoted and scored on a left-footer. Adams had another goal opportunity blocked. Fifth-year forward Hannah Smith had a shot blocked with the goalkeeper down. A diving save was needed to stop a liner by GCU freshman forward Makayla Gwynn, who also put a shot off the crossbar just before halftime.
An early second-half goal nearly came on a well-played through ball by Lopes sophomore Mai-Helen Nguyen Todnem, who moved into the starting lineup Thursday after a major bench impact last week. It set up senior midfielder Sophia Rubano racing downfield, but her shot toward the upper-left bin was saved. A long shot by Carlson required a backward leap to stop it, joining Nguyen Todnem, Adams and Stanley with quality second-half shot opportunities.
"Their goalkeeper made some amazing saves," Cissell said. "Our girls were saying that it should've been 5-0 or 6-0. When you take 26 shots and put 15 on frame, you're going to expect to score more than two. But if we win every game 2-0, I'll be a very happy man."
Lopes senior goalkeeper Emma Knack was not heavily tested with the stingy defensive wall in front of her and the offensive possession control. When Buffalo did have a chance, fifth-year defender Adelaide Wolfe made sequential blocks on the same attack to keep the ball from reaching Knack.
Cissell credited the players for intelligent, tactical play against an unfamiliar Buffalo system.
"Our girls figured out what Buffalo was trying to do and shut it down," Cissell said. "They really want to compact the midfield and make things difficult for midfielders to play through. I thought our midfielders handled it really, really well and got the ball out wide. Our wingers had a lot of space and were able to exploit them in space and beat them around the edge."
GCU continues its season-opening, four-match homestand with Texas for a 7 p.m. Sunday match. The Longhorns tied 1-1 at Arizona State on Thursday night to move to 2-0-1 after shutout wins against Pittsburgh and Houston Christian. Texas outshot ASU 9-3 in the second half but could not net a tiebreaker.
"I hope that this place will be packed Sunday," Cissell said of GCU Stadium. "I hope the Phoenix youth soccer community will come out to see not just us, but Texas. It's a great opportunity for our girls to compete against such a great team."
The Lopes also will try to replicate their 2021 NCAA Tournament team's 3-0 start on shutouts. GCU has not allowed a goal in two matches and an exhibition match, allowing only four shots on goal in those three matches combined.
"Our team is fantastic this year," Johannes said. "I'm so excited. Us keeping possessions up top give the back line time to get settled and reset. And at the same time, them keeping possession in the back line and switching it back and forth and switching the field gives us time to open up channels and make us run. All of us working together is what makes it happen."
Only the statistics were more dominant than the Lopes, who blazed by Buffalo 2-0 on a pair of first-half goals that came with a 16-0 shot advantage before halftime.
GCU banked its first 2-0 start since 2021 with forwards Amanda Adams and Ellie Johannes each scoring a goal in the first 17 minutes. The lopsided shot tally finished at 26-7 with the Lopes taking 15 shots on goal to the Bulls' two.
Tilting the field on Buffalo (2-1) with ball control and relentless attacks, GCU's speed created opportunities. That translated into a pair of goals on two-time Mid-American Goalkeeper of the year Lexie Thompson, who yielded two goals in a match three times last season.
"They just were relentless and persistent and kept battling for those goals," Lopes head coach Chris Cissell said. "It was great to see. Even late in the game, the speed and the work rate we were showing late in the game was great to see."
GCU's aggression showed early when sophomore defender Piper Carlson powered over a Buffalo defender to center the ball for senior midfielder Sabrina Guzman, who nearly scored for the second consecutive match but had her shot deflected over the net.
Two minutes later, the Lopes took a 1-0 lead when a long Carlson overhead inbound was headed backward by sophomore defender Elle Stanley for Adams. In the 10th minute, Adams side-kicked a high bounce into the left side of the net for the Houston transfer's first GCU goal to go with two assists in two matches.
"This team has been everything that I've wanted," Adams said. "The coaches have given us an environment to be here for each other. I couldn't have done it without my teammates. The coaches really have given me confidence to come right in and contribute to my team. The constant support and constant enthusiasm have been amazing.
"I've been given so much freedom to create and be myself. That's such a huge thing for a player like myself. It's just a joy to be here."
Just 6 1/2 minutes later, Johannes followed her fellow striker with the Lopes' second goal. Again, the Lopes' brilliant lead-up play created the scoring opportunity with Guzman stealing a goalkeeper outlet and passing to Adams, whose shot was blocked and follow-up header was knocked away by Thompson. But Johannes connected on the carom, not letting the ball land before redirecting it past scrambling defenders and a recovering Thompson.
"Our coaches have always told us to come out hot and come out on fire," said Johannes, who scored her fourth goal in two GCU seasons. "The coaches gave us an amazing pep talk. We knew how successful it was to high-press UofA from the beginning (in last week's 2-0 win), so we came out with that same mentality."
The Lopes kept peppering the Bulls with upfield pressure and the depth of using seven first-half reserves to maintain the pace.
Guzman nearly pivoted and scored on a left-footer. Adams had another goal opportunity blocked. Fifth-year forward Hannah Smith had a shot blocked with the goalkeeper down. A diving save was needed to stop a liner by GCU freshman forward Makayla Gwynn, who also put a shot off the crossbar just before halftime.
An early second-half goal nearly came on a well-played through ball by Lopes sophomore Mai-Helen Nguyen Todnem, who moved into the starting lineup Thursday after a major bench impact last week. It set up senior midfielder Sophia Rubano racing downfield, but her shot toward the upper-left bin was saved. A long shot by Carlson required a backward leap to stop it, joining Nguyen Todnem, Adams and Stanley with quality second-half shot opportunities.
"Their goalkeeper made some amazing saves," Cissell said. "Our girls were saying that it should've been 5-0 or 6-0. When you take 26 shots and put 15 on frame, you're going to expect to score more than two. But if we win every game 2-0, I'll be a very happy man."
Lopes senior goalkeeper Emma Knack was not heavily tested with the stingy defensive wall in front of her and the offensive possession control. When Buffalo did have a chance, fifth-year defender Adelaide Wolfe made sequential blocks on the same attack to keep the ball from reaching Knack.
Cissell credited the players for intelligent, tactical play against an unfamiliar Buffalo system.
"Our girls figured out what Buffalo was trying to do and shut it down," Cissell said. "They really want to compact the midfield and make things difficult for midfielders to play through. I thought our midfielders handled it really, really well and got the ball out wide. Our wingers had a lot of space and were able to exploit them in space and beat them around the edge."
GCU continues its season-opening, four-match homestand with Texas for a 7 p.m. Sunday match. The Longhorns tied 1-1 at Arizona State on Thursday night to move to 2-0-1 after shutout wins against Pittsburgh and Houston Christian. Texas outshot ASU 9-3 in the second half but could not net a tiebreaker.
"I hope that this place will be packed Sunday," Cissell said of GCU Stadium. "I hope the Phoenix youth soccer community will come out to see not just us, but Texas. It's a great opportunity for our girls to compete against such a great team."
The Lopes also will try to replicate their 2021 NCAA Tournament team's 3-0 start on shutouts. GCU has not allowed a goal in two matches and an exhibition match, allowing only four shots on goal in those three matches combined.
"Our team is fantastic this year," Johannes said. "I'm so excited. Us keeping possessions up top give the back line time to get settled and reset. And at the same time, them keeping possession in the back line and switching it back and forth and switching the field gives us time to open up channels and make us run. All of us working together is what makes it happen."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerTeam Stats
BUF
GCU
Goals
0
2
Shots
7
26
Shots on Goal
2
15
Saves
12
2
Corners
2
8
Fouls
6
6
Scoring Plays
Amanda Adams (1)
Assisted By: Elle Stanley , Piper Carlson
GOAL by GCU Adams, Amanda Assist by Stanley, Elle and Carlson, Piper.
09:59
Ellie Johannes (1)
Assisted By: Amanda Adams
GOAL by GCU Johannes, Ellie Assist by Adams, Amanda.
16:29
Game Leaders
fwd
Shots
6
SOG
4
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
1
def
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Friday, August 21
Friday, August 21
Thursday, August 20
Friday, August 14