(Riverside, Calif. – Oct. 29, 2023) Utah Tech women's soccer played Sunday evening, falling 2-0 to the Grand Canyon Lopes in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament. The result concludes the team's 2023 season with an 8-7-5 record.
 
Michelle Rodriguez made her return to the starting eleven as the Trailblazers successfully weathered early pressure from Grand Canyon. After Bryanna Hofheins made her first save in the 5^th minute, Emily Garbett stepped up with a save off the line, deflecting a GCU shot from the edge of the box out to keep the game level in the 15^th minute.
 
GCU's pressure eventually led to a goal as the fourth-seeded opponents found their breakthrough in the 19^th minute. With Utah Tech battling intense wind that led to one Lope goal kick getting carried directly out of play for a Trailblazer goal kick, it would remain a 1-0 game at halftime.
 
After Grand Canyon doubled the lead in the 57^th minute, Karli Heaton came close to cutting into the lead with a shot in the 67^th minute. Brynlee Rider played a cross for Heaton, whose shot attempt finished just wide in the netting at the near post.
 
GCU added a third in the 76^th but Utah Tech would find late opportunities, but shots by Hanna Carlisle (off the woodwork), Lacy Fox (blocked) and Ella Rusick (off-target) weren't able to find the back of the net as Grand Canyon took the 3-0 victory.
 
Utah Tech finished with six shots (one on goal), while taking two corner kicks and drawing seven Lope fouls. Hofheins would set a new career-high with 11 saves, going the full 90 minutes along with Gracie Knutzen and Lacy Fox.
 
Sunday's game officially concluded Head Coach Lexi Brown's first season at the helm of Trailblazer women's soccer, as the team finished its 2023 campaign with an 8-7-5 record that included a 10-game unbeaten streak; that streak started with a 1-0 victory over Portland State on Sept. 10 and lasted until the final weekend of play.