CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Southern Utah University women's soccer team welcomed in the Grand Canyon University Lopes on Sept. 28 for a conference showdown, where the Lopes ultimately came away with a 4-1 win.

Grand Canyon got the scoring started early in this competition when, in the ninth minute, senior forward Gianna Gourley took a rebounding ball off the Southern Utah goal post and kicked it in, making it 1-0 in favor of the Lopes.

The offensive attack would continue for Grand Canyon in the 35th minute when Gourley found fellow senior Bekah Valdez with a touch pass, leading to an easy score for GCU.

The second half started with much of the same, and on a fast break in the 53rd minute, Gourley connected with senior Lindsey Prokop to earn her second assist of the night. This gave GCU an imposing 3-0 lead.

Gourley continued to stuff the stat sheet. In the 67th minute of play, she was able to convert an assist from junior Renee Sainz into her second match goal.

Facing a shutout, the Thunderbirds responded in the 72nd minute, going on a fastbreak attempt that ended with a goal from redshirt sophomore Whitney Gardner, cutting into the GCU lead for a 4-1 finish.

Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, that is where the comeback attempt ended — both teams would go scoreless for the remainder of the game.

The loss moves SUU to 0-6-5 on the season and 0-1-1 in conference play, while GCU shifts to 8-4-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

Quotes from Kai Edwards
"We played a good team and they made good plays. We played hard and played together as a team but ultimately lost to a team that is around the top of the league. CBU is a good team as well and we will need to play well and execute in order to see success on Sunday."

The Thunderbirds will continue their homestand on Sunday, Oct. 1, when they welcome California Baptist University into town. The game will be played at 1 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.

Story by: Aidan Mortensen

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