OMAHA, Neb. – Freshman Laurin Mertz scored her first collegiate goal of her career in Omaha's 1-0 win over Grand Canyon on Friday night at Caniglia Field.
 
With the victory, Omaha improves to 3-6-1 on the season while Grand Canyon falls to 1-8-1.
 
Goals
OMAHA: 44' – Laurin Mertz (Assisted by Jaden Thiem and Margaret Lavigne)
 
How It Happened

• Hannah Heinemann nearly broke the scoreless tie in the 38^th minute, firing off two shots on goal in a span of 10 seconds that were denied by the GCU keeper.
• Margaret Lavigne retrieved the free kick from Jaden Thiem into the box and had her shot ricochet off the GCU keeper before Mertz cleaned up the rebound and placed the ball into the back of the net for her first collegiate goal in the 44^th minute.
• Omaha held off five Grand Canyon shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half, none of which were on goal.
• Goalkeeper Erin Bunker garnered a pair of saves in the 86^th minute to preserve the shutout victory over the Lopes.

Inside the Box Score

• Grand Canyon tallied a 15-10 advantage in shots over the Mavericks after recording an 11-1 mark in the second half.
• The Lopes drew two yellow cards while the Mavericks were handed one.
• Thiem leads the Mavericks with five points on the season after her team-high third assist of the year.
• Mertz becomes the sixth different Maverick to score a goal this season while Lavigne moves her point total to three on the season with the assist.
• Bunker improves to 2-4 on the season while recording four saves to notch her second shutout this week.
• The Maverick defense continue to show its strength as Omaha has allowed zero or one goal in nine of its first 10 matches.

 What's Next
Omaha begins Summit League play on the road at Western Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. in Macomb, Ill.