SAN ANTONIO – Fresh off a 3-0 home-opening win and riding a two-match winning streak, UTSA soccer hosts Grand Canyon in a Sunday 1 p.m. matchup at Park West Athletics Complex. The game will be streamed live on CUSA TV.
UTSA (2-1-0) comes into the matchup with the Lopes fresh off a pair of 3-0 wins. UTSA posted a 3-0 win over Tulsa last Sunday in Stillwater, Okla., in the finale of the Cowgirl Invitational and posted a 3-0 win over California Baptist on Thursday night, a team that won 10 games a year ago.
In Thursday's rout of California Baptist, UTSA got the first two career goals from freshman Anna Sutter, who netted tallies in the fourth and 21st minutes. Senior Ellis Patterson notched her second goal of the year and the 18th of her sparkling career in the 14th minute for a two-goal margin. UTSA also got a clean sheet – the second of the year – from junior keeper Jil Schneider.
The Roadrunners have averaged two goals a game through three outings and have held opponents to a 0.67 goals-against average. Schneider has 11 saves through three games and now owns five shutouts in her career, ranking fifth in UTSA history. Her nine wins checks in fifth-best in program annals.
Sutter, a native of Switzerland, leads the team with five points, including the two goals and an assist. Patterson owns two goals on four shots, while Kendall Kloza has added a goal and an assist, and Jordyn Hyland sports a goal in her first three collegiate games. Alissa Stewart has added two assists and Sarina Russ assisted on a goal in Stillwater on opening weekend.
Patterson, a native of Austin, Texas, has 49 career points and 18 career goals, ranking tied with Maria Jose Rojas (2010-12) for third in UTSA school history in both categories. She also ranks fourth in assists (13) and eighth in shots (104). UTSA is also led by senior Lexi Bolton, who ranks ninth in UTSA history in points (26) and third in shots (130).
Grand Canyon (2-0-0) – under the direction of second-year head coach Chris Cissell – will face UTSA on Sunday after taking on UIW on Friday night across town in the Alamo City. The Lopes are coming off an 8-9-1 record a year ago that included a 7-4-1 mark in the Western Athletic Conference. The Lopes finished the year with a 6-1-1 record in their final eight games, sporting a 28-8 goal advantage.
GCU has posted an 8-0 goal difference through two wins in 2021, including a 3-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana and a 5-0 win over Central Arkansas. Junior Dani Babb leads the Lopes with two goals and keeper Jordan Ferguson is the only WAC keeper not to allow a goal in 2021. GCU, who owns a 56-12 advantage in shots in 2021, is led by fifth-year defender Hannah Edwards, who broke the program record for career minutes played and was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week.
UTSA leads the all-time series with Grand Canyon, 2-0, winning the 2018 and 2019 meetings in a home-and-home series. UTSA posted a 2-1 overtime win in 2018 and posted a 4-0 win in 2019 in Phoenix.
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