Under the Arizona desert stars with two minutes remaining, Idaho’s hopes for an equalizer hung by a thread. Junior forward Georgia Whitehead’s cross found sophomore midfielder Hallie Prinos-Grumbach, who fired a shot destined for the top corner, only to watch Grand Canyon junior goalkeeper Emma Knack’s fingertips deflect it off the crossbar.
Graduate midfielder Annika Farley pounced on the rebound, but Knack made her second spectacular save in seconds, sealing the Lopes’ 1-0 victory and sending the Vandals home empty-handed.
The match began with a moment of silence and the flag flew at half-mast to honor the victims of September 11, 2001. Players from both teams filled the field, ready to play and remember those who can never be forgotten.
Idaho came out fresh after a week off and immediately went on the front foot, causing Grand Canyon problems across the field. The midfield served as the engine of the Vandals’ first-half success. Stellar plays from Whitehead and redshirt sophomore forwards Calli Chiarelli and Payton Oelkers showed GCU they were in for a 90-minute battle.
The Vandals held on, bringing out the elegant passing, movement and pressing game that have been their biggest weapons this season. They carried that momentum into halftime with the teams deadlocked at 0-0.
The Lopes, who had been quiet in the first half, emerged from the break determined to seize control. Leading that charge was Ole Miss transfer sophomore midfielder Tatum Hofstetter, an Arizona native playing back in her home state after appearing in eight games for the Rebels last season.
Hofstetter was everywhere in the second half. After spending the first 45 minutes doing defensive dirty work and using her hold-up play, she finally got to showcase the exceptional quality that made her attractive to Ole Miss in the first place.
Grand Canyon flipped the script, and within the first 10 minutes of the second half they had regained momentum. The once-quiet crowd began picking up steam as they sensed the first goal approaching.
In the 57th minute, a poor clearance by Idaho fell to freshman defender Taylor Gerst. She used her pace to round the corner, erupting the GCU crowd in anticipation.
Gerst spotted Hofstetter’s trailing run into the six-yard box and delivered a perfectly timed cutback. Hofstetter finished clinically with a shot to the far corner, putting the Lopes up 1-0.
The Vandals struggled briefly after conceding but eventually regained control of the match.
However, their lack of quality in the final third came back to haunt them, and Idaho fell to 3-3-2 overall and 1-2-1 on the road.
Despite the loss, the Vandals delivered their best road performance of the season. They’ll look to maintain this intensity and energy as they head to Hollywood to face California State University, Bakersfield on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 11 a.m.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected].