Women’s Soccer continues season-opening road trip at Grand Canyon

Sunday, August 20

Phoenix, AZ / GCU Stadium

10 PM ET

Wright State University

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Tommy Fernandez

Women’s Soccer continues season-opening road trip at Grand Canyon

8/18/2023 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

DAYTON — The Wright State women's soccer program continues its season-opening road trip against Grand Canyon on Sunday, August 20. Kickoff is set for 10 p.m. ET at GCU Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz. The non-conference matchup will stream on ESPN+, while live stats will also be available.

MATCH INFORMATION
Sunday, August 20 - 10 p.m. ET - Watch - Live Stats

SCOUTING THE LOPES
Grand Canyon is coming off a strong 2022 campaign, as the Lopes went 11-7-2 overall and 6-4-1 in WAC play. GCU defeated Utah Tech 3-0 in the opening round of the WAC tournament before falling to top-seeded Utah Valley 3-2 in double overtime in the semifinals.

The Lopes return seven players who started 17 or more games last year, including Preseason All-WAC selections Gianna Gourley and Leah Pirro. GCU opened the 2023 campaign with a narrow 2-1 loss against Mississippi State at home.

HISTORY VS. GCU
Wright State has never faced Grand Canyon since the origination of its program in 1985. The Raiders last traveled to Arizona for matches against Northern Arizona and Southern Utah in the Mountain Classic during the 2014 season.

LAST TIME OUT
WSU dropped its season opener to Arizona State 4-0 on Thursday night at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. Goalkeeper Kiera Sarka held ASU scoreless in the first half and finished with a career-high five saves. Marina Ruthsatz paced the Raider attack with a shot on goal, while Kaylee Pham logged a team-leading 90 minutes of playing time.

ALL-CONFERENCE TALENT
Wright State returns four All-Horizon League selections from last season. Marcella Sizer became the second individual in program history to earn League Offensive Player of the Year after leading the team in points (15) and goals (6). Lauren Borchert topped the conference in shots on goal per game (1.67) and shots on goal (30) en route to All-League Second Team honors. Elise Canter (4 goals) and Kaylee Pham (18 starts, 1,601 minutes) garnered All-Freshman Team accolades.

MEET THE COACHES
The Raiders are led by third-year head coach Travis Sobers, a longtime assistant coach at WSU before taking reigns on the sidelines two summers ago. The former Wright State men's soccer standout player guided the Raiders to an 8-7-3 overall record and a 5-2-3 mark in conference play last year, good for the program's first winning seasons in both categories since 2019. First-year assistant coach Krystle Seidel joined the staff in May 2023 after a four-year head coaching stint at Macalester College and nine seasons at the University of Minnesota.

PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders were picked seventh in the annual Horizon League preseason poll, which the league's 11 head coaches voted on. Defending conference champion Milwaukee topped the poll, while Oakland was close behind in second.

2023 SQUAD
WSU welcomes ten newcomers — all freshmen — to this season's squad. The Raiders' 29-player roster includes nine returning sophomores, four juniors, four seniors, and two fifth-year student-athletes.

OHIO STRONG
Wright State's 2023 roster features 20 players from Ohio. Four Raiders — Addy Canter, Elise Canter, Ashley Vaughn, and Heidi Orloff — came to WSU from nearby Beavercreek High School. Another three individuals — Annika Samborski, Brandi Greenlee, and Olivia Mace — prepped at Centerville High School.

CAREER LEADERS (at Wright State only)
Goals

Lauren Borchert - 7
Marcella Sizer & Kaylin Helinski - 6
Elise Canter - 4

Assists

Olivia Mace - 6
Marcella Sizer & Lauren Borchert - 3
Amber Branum - 2

Points

Lauren Borchert - 17
Marcella Sizer - 15
Kaylin Helinski - 13

Saves

Erin Baker - 27
Kiera Sarka - 11

Games

Kaylin Helinski - 59
Lauren Borchert - 46
Heidi Orloff - 40

Starts

Kaylin Helinski - 43
Lauren Borchert - 40
Olivia Mace - 33

NEXT UP
After Grand Canyon, Wright State will return to Ohio for its home opener versus Southern Indiana on Thursday, August 24. The match will commence at 7 p.m. from Alumni Field.