In desperate need of a late spark on Opening Night.
Deandra Dan gave them two.
Scoring late in both halves, the freshman forward lifted the
Grand Canyon University Women's Club Soccer team to a 2-1 comeback victory over Northern Arizona University on Saturday evening at
Colter Field. The win opened the 2026-27 regular season for not only the soccer season, but also for GCU Club Sports.
"NAU is always a good team, always competitive, and always pushes us, but I thought with the good mix of newcomers and returners we had that we'd see a few more goals hit the back of the net for us," said
Lopes' Head Coach Alex Martins. "Ultimately, though, as I tell our players, every game is different, and the most important thing was that we found a way to win even though we weren't at our best."
For the 2
nd-year head coach, it was the second straight time his teams
opened the regular season campaign with a 2-1 win. The Lopes hope the rest of the year follows a similar path to the history-making 2025-26 campaign that included a Region V title and its
first-ever nationals berth.
NAU struck first, going ahead 1-0 in the 21st minute on a shot from the top of the box. The Lopes trailed until just before the break, when Dan tied the match at 1-1 in the 45th minute on an assist from fellow freshman forward
Giana Papini.
A stalemate ensued throughout the 2
nd half – that is, until the 79th minute, when Dan struck again from roughly 45 yards out on an assist from junior defender
Blake Wolf to put GCU in front for good. From there, the Lopes' defense didn't give Martins a lot to worry about by keeping the ball in NAU's zone for most of the remaining 11 minutes of play.
"We have nine freshmen on this team, and we were super excited to have Deandra as one of those," said Martins. "She's shown a lot of bright spots in training already, so to see that pay off in Game 1 is really encouraging."
Protecting the home turf – even in the first game – is crucial for the Lopes when you consider that they now hit the road for six straight games – beginning in Tucson next Sunday, September 27 against the University of Arizona. The Lopes don't return home until Saturday, October 24, for a battle against their archrivals from Arizona State University. Kickoff is scheduled for 8PM on the GCU campus, and admission is FREE.
