2 Lopes 1st-half goals earn road win

Sunday, September 13

Cheney, Wash.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

4-2-2, 0-0-0

Eastern Washington

5-2-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Grand Canyon	2	0	2
Eastern Wash.	0	0	0

9/13/2026 4:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

GCU's Knox, Perry dazzle in 1st career starts

By: Braden Dohrmann

CHENEY, Wash. – Grand Canyon capped its road trip with a 2-0 win at Eastern Washington in a Sunday match that got every traveling field player into the game to contribute.

GCU head coach Chris Cissell changed strategy after a loss to Idaho on Thursday, bringing seven players normally on the bench into the starting lineup Sunday.

Five Lopes made their first career collegiate starts, including goalkeeper Bryanna Perry, forward Lauren Knox, defender Sasha Brewer, midfielder Addie Vali and freshman Lia D'Afonseca.

Perry, making her first start in goal in her third GCU season, showed up in a big way with six saves to anchor the team's fourth shutout of the season. Perry also adds a combined shutout to her resume this season, giving the Lopes plenty of depth at keeper alongside Emma Knack.

Knox, the junior from St. Louis, started her first collegiate game and appeared in her 10th career match for the Lopes. She got the scoring going with a goal in the 21st minute, thanks to sophomore Mai-Helen Nguyen Todnem's assist into the box. Knox's goal eventually went down as the game-winning score.

"We wanted to shake things up with our starting lineup," Cissell said. "The girls who got the start today are hard-working and were deserving of the nod. I was excited to see them come through for their team. It was good to see the energy some of our normal starters brought off the bench today as well."

Not long after, the Lopes struck again in the 37th minute. Center back and captain Madison Hamm stepped up into the midfield from her back-line positioning and curled a through ball through three defenders to a sprinting Ellie Johannes. The senior forward collected and composed herself on the run and used a few dribbles before putting a sliding shot on frame for her second goal of the season.

Johannes leads the team in shots and is a goal away from tying her goal total from last season.

The GCU defense, led by a stout back line, controlled the Eagles attack from the jump, giving Perry a fairly stress-free six saves in her first career start.

The Lopes have played eight games, earning four shutouts and allowing one goal in each of the other four matches. GCU has won each shutout and have drawn or lost in the four matches that they allowed just a goal. They have surrendered the second-least goals per match (0.5) in the Mountain West.

"A ton of credit to Coach Blake Reynolds," Cissell said of his associate head coach. "He has our girls rolling defensively, and the entire team really is in amazing defensive form."

Grand Canyon (4-2-2) will head home for three straight matches at GCU Stadium over the next two weeks, finishing nonconference play on Thursday with in-state foe Northern Arizona.

It will be "Believe Night inspired by Ted Lasso" and a student "March to the Match," with a great student attendance expected on Thursday evening.