It was like they never left.

Grand Canyon University Women's Club Soccer faced live competition for the first time in over a year on Friday, but the long break was not evident in their dominant 8-1 win over Arizona Christian University at Prescott Field on the GCU campus.

"My girls all come from different coaches and style of play," said Lopes' Head Coach Hannah Bolton. "It was really cool to see how they were able to come together and execute our system in their first game as a team."

Lopes' forward Ellie Busik kicked off GCU's offense in the opening minutes of the game with her first – but certainly not last – goal of the game. Busik went on to find the back of the net three more times in the first half, and once more in the second half.

ACU's offense finally kicked into gear ten minutes into the game and trailing, 2-0, making a solid drive down the field that resulted in their first and only goal of the game.

The Lopes' ability to shut out ACU for the remainder of the game was largely thanks to freshman goalkeeper Jazzlynn Ross.

"For me, Jazz was our player of the game," said Bolton. "She was nervous coming into her first game, but she came out and commanded the box."

The relentless efforts of Ross and the rest of the defensive line allowed the Lopes' offense to shine. Busik's five goal night was bolstered by two goals from forward Lexi Baca, and one goal from forward Payten Leeman.

While Bolton was more than pleased with the success of their first game of the season, the room for growth is always there.

"We still have a few kinks to work out," said Bolton. "I want to clean up how we transition from defense to offense and continue to get more players involved in the attack."

The Lopes will have a chance to showcase any improvements they make in their next match against the University of Arizona this Sunday, Mar. 21 back at Prescott Field. Kick off is scheduled for 2pm.?