Buoyed by the 11 roster players that achieved similar success in the tournament in 2021, the Grand Canyon University Women's Club Soccer Team Purple won the annual Aztec Cup Tournament in nailbiting fashion, outlasting its last two opponents in penalty shootouts. It's the second time in the last three years that the Lopes have brought the trophy home from San Diego, California, and their championship match win over host San Diego State University avenged last year's semifinal loss to the Aztecs. It also kept the Lopes unbeaten on the season, moving their overall mark to 8-0.

Friday: Pool Play: GCU 4, NAU 0

Previous experience didn't just matter in the title match for the Lopes, since their first matchup of the tournament was a rematch of last weekend's defensive 1-0 tussle against Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. The Lopes didn't allow the Lumberjacks' defense to get comfortable this time around, getting two early goals from Katelyn Laccinole and Kylee Evans to stake them to a 2-0 edge at halftime. The Lopes' goalkeeper combination of junior Clarissa Harris (1^st half) and sophomore Lauryn Patena (2^nd half) kept NAU's offense in check, and Lopes' sophomore midfielders Ellie Potkonjak and Mikenna Madelans put the match out of reach with second-half goals.

Friday: Pool Play: GCU 2, Cal-State Fullerton 0

The intensity in the Lopes' second match in a six-hour span wasn't quite as strong, but the GCU defense stayed just as stingy, and the Harris-Patena combination produced the team's second straight shutout. The déjà vu from the first match didn't end there as Laccinole and Evans once again gave the Lopes the lead for good for California State University-Fullerton, with each finding the net late in the first half. The scoreless second half for both teams wasn't by accident.
 
"It was a combination of things," said Lopes' Head Coach Hannah Bolton. "We were certainly a little fatigued after playing the NAU game just hours before, and we also wanted to manage legs and substitutes well in anticipation of the next day's matches."

Saturday: Semifinals: GCU 1, Utah Valley 1 (GCU 4-3 in PK SO)

Sweeping pool play sent the Lopes straight to the tournament semifinals just 12 hours after the CSUF shutout, and waiting for them was a gritty Utah Valley University squad that had tied the Lopes in pool play in the teams' only other Aztec Cup meeting in 2019. The Lopes again struck first, with Emma Lane giving GCU a 1-0 halftime lead, but the Wolverines battled back to tie the match in the match's 59^th minute, and neither offense could muster much else for the rest of regulation. With no overtime or sudden death in the tournament's rulebook, the teams went straight to a penalty shootout, which gave Harris a chance to set up the win with two saves in goal, and Lopes' senior Brynn Christenson the chance to win it, which she did with the Lopes' clinching score in PKs.

Saturday: Championship: GCU 1, San Diego State 1 (GCU 4-3 in PK SO)

Seven years of frustration bubbled under the surface as the Lopes not only faced the host team in the finals, but a team they'd never beaten before in four previous tries. The Aztecs proceeded to give the Lopes their only deficit of the tournament, scoring in the match's first 10 minutes and maintaining the 1-0 lead throughout. Undeterred, the Lopes kept attacking, finally breaking through with just over two minutes left in regulation thanks to Lopes' junior Jaelen Giron's tying score to send it to penalty kicks once again. The Lopes were tabbed to kick first in the best-of-five shootout, and Harris – reinserted for extras after Patena played the second half in goal – became the hero, saving two of SDSU's attempts to ice it.
 
"The grit that this team shows is something I don't usually see," said Bolton. "We were so confident we were going to score down the stretch, and it made everyone give it their all. SDSU is a really good team, and they've been in national championship tournaments before, so that's a great confidence booster."
 
Bolton also got a taste of just how close the players are throughout the program, since after GCU Team Purple celebrated the trophy, they immediately dashed to another field at the complex to cheer on their teammates on GCU Team Black. The Lopes' Black squad finished 3^rd in pool play but caught fire on the second day to defeat Cal-State Fullerton in the Silver Division semifinals, then top California State University-Northridge in the finals, and like their teammates, earned both victories via penalty shootouts.
 
The Lopes come home for a pair of conference matches this weekend, hosting Arizona Christian University at 5PM Friday night, and then hosting the University of Arizona at 1PM Saturday afternoon. Both matches will be held on the brand-new turf of the Lopes' home of Colter Field on the east side of the GCU campus, and Saturday's matchup will be streamed live on the Varsity Sports Show's YouTube Channel.