The Butler women’s soccer team will take on Richmond Friday, marking the Bulldogs’ first Atlantic 10 road match of the season.

The Bulldogs have started their inaugural season in the A-10 with a 2-0-1 record in conference play.

Butler has not lost a match since Sept. 7, winning five matches and tying one game in that timeframe.

The Bulldogs are 2-2 when traveling to an opponent’s pitch this season.

The Spiders are 6-7 overall and have gone 2-2 in A-10 matches. Richmond owns a 3-1 record on their home pitch season.

This past weekend, Butler (8-3-2, 2-0-1) squeaked out two overtime victories over the Dayton Flyers (9-4-0, 3-1-0) and Xavier Musketeers (6-7-1, 1-3-0), both at the Butler Bowl.

The Bulldogs were able to cap off a winning weekend when they defeated the Musketeers 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Butler was on the attack for most of the game, out-shooting Xavier 21-3.

Although they out-shot the Musketeers, the Bulldogs failed to secure the win in regulation time.

The game-winning goal came in the 98th minute when sophomore defender Kelly Mahoney drilled a back-post shot past the Xavier goalkeeper.

The win over Xavier came just two days after a 3-2 victory over Dayton.

The teams dealt with chilly weather and heavy rain all night.

Both teams were able to tally one goal in the first 14 minutes. The Flyers took the lead twice in the first half, but the Bulldogs were able to answer both times.

Freshman midfielder Sophie Maccagnone tied the game with a free kick skimming into the bottom left corner of the net a few minutes before halftime.

Neither team was able to pull away in the second half, sending the match into overtime.

Sophomore forward Elise Kotsakis scored the game-winning goal in the 98th minute, her second tally of the season.

The Butler women’s soccer team looked to continue its winning streak with two non-conference games last weekend.

The Bulldogs (2-2) had their first away match against Eastern Michigan (1-1-1) that ended in a 1-0 loss.

“Our first away game was especially difficult because EMU has a grass field. It definitely threw off the pace of our play and it took a lot of adaptions on our part,” freshman forward Addison Schaar said.

Both teams had a scoreless first half, despite combining for a total of 15 shots in the first half.

The Eagle’s freshman forward Sarah Deakin scored the only goal of the match in the 65th minute.

“We’re using this loss as motivation to come out and beat Purdue this Wednesday, as well as giving us something to improve on during training,” said Schaar.

Three players scored their first goal of the season for the Bulldogs (2-2), propelling them to a 3-0 win over the Sycamores (1-2) last Friday.

With eight minutes remaining in the first half, Butler tallied its first goal, a long-distance strike by freshman midfielder Sophia Maccagnone.

The second half, much like the first, was dominated by physical play. The two squads combined for 24 fouls in the match.

“Going into the game we knew how the game was going to be so we just went right back at them with being physical,” sophomore forward Stephanie Kaylor said.

In the 57th minute, a well-placed corner kick by Kaylor was deposited in the back of the net off the head of sophomore defenseman Kelly Mahoney, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage.

Photo by Jaclyn McConnell

“I know that if I put the ball in a certain spot just beyond the keeper, one of my teammates will put it in the back of the net,” Kaylor said.

Moments later sophomore forward Elise Kotsakis delivered on a penalty kick, putting the game out of Indiana State’s reach.

The Sycamores were unable to record a shot attempt in the second half.

Butler will continue its non-conference schedule with a match at Purdue tonight starting at 7 p.m.

With memories of the team’s 1-0 double overtime loss to Louisville possibly sitting in the minds of some Butler women’s soccer players, the Bulldogs looked to avenge the defeat in tonight’s rematch.

The Cardinals (1-0) proved to be too strong for the Bulldogs (0-1) to handle, however, as Louisville made its way to a 2-0 victory. The match was the season-opener for both teams.

In a game dominated by physicality, a finesse performance by Louisville sophomore forward Casey Whitfield in the 53rd minute led to the game-winning tally.

Just moments after beating multiple Butler defenders–only to have a shot turned away by Butler junior goalkeeper Julie Burton–Whitfield threaded the ball through several of the same Bulldogs and beat Burton with a shot.

In the 84th minute, junior midfielder Angelika Uremovich put the icing on the cake for the Cardinals by firing a shot over the outstretch arms of Burton off a free kick.

Sophomore forward Elise Kotsakis recorded five shots for the Bulldogs, and freshman midfielder Sophia Maccagnone added three11 more. Butler was outshot 11-10 by Louisville.

The match also saw 16 fouls and three yellow cards between the squads.

Butler will stay at home and prepare for Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. The two teams will square off in the Butler Bowl Sunday at 2 pm.

Despite a career-best eight saves from sophomore goalkeeper Julie Burton and a stonewall defense, the Butler women’s soccer team saw its season come to an end with a 1-0 loss to No. 15 Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the semifinals of the Horizon League Soccer Championships.

“We played extremely well,” sophomore Ali Backscheider said. “It didn’t work out in our favor, but we’re happy with how we played.”

Milwaukee junior midfielder Helen Steinhauser scored the lone goal of the match in the 35th minute, and it was enough to let the Panthers (18-2-0, 8-0-0) slip by with the win.

On the goal-scoring play, freshman midfielder Kelsey Holbert ran the ball into the box and then found Steinhauser at the near post. Steinhauser took advantage, finding the back of the net with a one-touch shot.

The Bulldogs (8-10-2, 3-5-0) shut down the Panthers’ attack in the second half but were not able to generate an effective offensive effort.

Photo by Maria Porter

By the end of the match, Milwaukee held a 17-6 advantage in shots and had seven corner kicks to Butler’s one.

Freshman forward Elise Kotsakis recorded Butler’s lone shot on goal.

“We have to score to win, and we didn’t score,” Backscheider said.

Despite the loss, the Bulldogs were able to silence Milwaukee All-American forward Sarah Hagen throughout the match. Hagen is second in the nation with 24 goals.

“We shut her down and took her out of the game,” junior forward Katie Griswold said. “[Sophomore midfielder] Anna [Ventimiglia] completely dominated her.”

The Bulldogs also had three fewer fouls and seven more saves than the Panthers.

With the season over, the Bulldogs already are looking forward to next fall.

“We played really well with just one senior, and that just shows what kind of team we’re going to have next year,” Griswold said.

In a game for Butler’s history books, the women’s soccer team came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Valparaiso and move on in the Horizon League tournament.

The game, played Tuesday in Valparaiso, featured 20 minutes of extra play and eight rounds of penalty kicks.

In the first 40 minutes, offense was the theme of the game, with all four goals coming in the first half.

Junior Rachel Scott scored on a rebound off a shot by fellow junior Katie Griswold, and sophomore Olivia Colosimo scored on a free kick.

After a defensive second half that featured several saves from Bulldog goalkeeper Julie Burton, the game went to overtime.

After no offensive action in two overtimes, the game went to a shootout, which Butler won by a count of 5-4.

Valparaiso had two opportunities to win in PKs, but both were shut down.

The match featured 37 shots and 37 fouls between the two teams.

Burton had seven saves in the marathon of a match.

Bundled-up fans came out to the Butler Bowl on Oct. 28 for the team’s last conference match against Loyola.

They watched the Bulldogs (8-9-1, 3-5) work to come back from a 2-0 first- half deficit.

In the 10th minute, Rambler freshman defenseman Valerie Gonyo headed a Loyola free kick into the net to put them up 1-0.

“You fall behind early, the game changes, and you have to chase it a little bit,” Butler coach Tari St. John said.

Loyola tallied another goal just less than 28 minutes later when junior forward Ana Michelini broke away on a run and chipped the ball over Burton.

“We put the effort in, we were connected, and I think we played really well with each other,” freshman foward Elise Kotsakis said. “We just couldn’t get it in the back of the net.”

Kotsakis, who had a career-high nine shots during the match, changed that in the 74th minute, scoring the only goal of the second half.

The goal-scoring play started with a pass from  Griswold to Kotsakis, who buried the ball in the net from 12 yards out.

Butler’s offense could not find the net again, and the Bulldogs finished the regular season with a sub-.500 record.

By the end of the match, Butler had outshot Loyola 18-8 and had eight shots on goal to the Ramblers’ six.

“We always like to win just for pride,” Burton said. “I think it’s good that we can come back from two goals and make those changes.”

The Bulldogs next play on Nov. 4 against Horizon League regular-season champion Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the semifinal round of the conference tournament.

The Panthers (16-2-0, 8-0-0) defeated the Bulldogs 4-1 in a match earlier this season.

In a game that was critical to conference standing, the Butler women’s soccer team got a crucial 2-0 win against Horizon League foe Wisconsin-Green Bay on Sunday.

With the win, the Bulldogs (8-8-1, 3-4-0) clinched, at worst, a sixth-place finish in the Horizon League, which guarantees them a spot in the league tournament.

“We’re good enough to be in the tournament,” freshman forward Stephanie Kaylor said.  “We shouldn’t have ended our season without being in it, and we‘re relieved to have clinched a spot.”

As they have done often this season, the Bulldogs came out as the aggressors against the Phoenix (3-10-4, 1-4-2). The team’s offensive pressure would be rewarded in the match’s 19th minute.

The goal-scoring play started when Kaylor fired the ball into the box.

Photo by Maria Porter

Phoenix senior goalkeeper Maddie Drusch attempted to break up the play, but the ball deflected off her hands and into the goal to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs and Phoenix played an evenly-matched contest for the rest of the half and took the 1-0 lead going into halftime.

The Bulldogs outshot Green Bay 7-6 in the first half and tallied five corner kicks.

“We played really well from the beginning,” junior forward Katie Griswold said.  “Our team really played as a unit.”

The second half would see no letdown from Butler, as the Bulldogs took only six minutes to notch their second goal of the match.

This time, Griswold drew a foul in the box and received a penalty kick.

“I got a pass from someone and beat a player, and a girl just took me out,” Griswold said.  “It’s really nerve-wracking when you go up there, but I never make eye contact with the goalkeeper. I just pick a corner and go for it.”

Griswold converted the opportunity, and the Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead with 38 minutes remaining.

Butler was able to hold off Green Bay for the remainder of the game and pick up its eighth victory of the season.

Freshman forward Elise Kotsakis led the Bulldogs with three shots, and sophomore goalkeeper Julie Burton had five saves for Butler.

The win got Butler back on track in conference play and broke a three-game losing streak. The third loss in the slide came on Wednesday against Valparaiso.

The Crusaders (8-6-3, 4-2-1) took the decision 1-0 on Wednesday to remain in third place in the Horizon League.

Butler was led by Griswold and junior Rachael Melendez, who each collected five shots.

Burton made four saves for the Bulldogs in the defeat.

The Bulldogs return to action one last time before the conference tournament when they host Loyola under the lights on Friday.

Loyola won their first Horizon League match on Sunday, with  a 1-0 victory over Youngstown State.

The Ramblers (5-10-3, 1-4-2) are battling Cleveland State for the sixth and final spot in the league tournament.

Photo by Maria Porter

Not even chilly conditions could prevent the Butler women’s soccer team from taking down Youngstown State Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (7-5-1, 2-1-0) triumphed 2-1 over the Penguins (3-6-2, 0-1-1) for their second straight conference win.

“If you score early, that may change the way they are going to play,” Butler head coach Tari St. John said.

Butler flexed its offensive muscles early, scoring five minutes into the game on a 25-yard strike from junior forward Katie Griswold.

The goal was Griswold’s team-leading fifth this season.

After being staked to an early lead, Butler kept up the pressure, both on offense and defense.

The Bulldogs outshot the Penguins 13-1 in the opening half, which ultimately led to another Butler goal.

The strike came from freshman defenseman Kelly Mahoney, who buried the ball in the back of the net off of a corner kick in the 38th minute to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage.

The second goal proved to be valuable insurance for Butler. Youngstown State freshman forward Jade Flory provided a goal for the Penguins in the 63rd minute to pull within one.

The Bulldogs outshot the Penguins 18-5 on the afternoon. Freshman forward Elise Kotsakis led the way with five shots.

“The game had a lot of variables like the bad weather and a different field than what we are used to,” Kotsakis said.  “The one thing we did was make sure we played a 90 minute game and kept our lead.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Burton got her fourth start of the season in net for the Bulldogs and notched her third win of the season.

Butler also was in action on Thursday when it hosted its second night match in less than a week. This one was against non-conference rival Xavier.

The game went into double overtime and eventually ended in a 2-2 tie, giving the Bulldogs their first draw of the season.

Butler started the game strong, breaking out to a 2-0 lead before halftime.

The Musketeers (6-4-1) were able to pull closer in the second half when senior forward Jessica Brooks scored in the 69th minute.

Xavier then came up with the equalizer late in the contest when junior defenseman Brooke Eberly scored in the 86th minute.

The game would remain deadlocked until the final whistle at the end of the second overtime period.

While the game will go down as a tie, the statistics will show that the Bulldogs were the aggressors, holding a 23-13 advantage in shots.

The Bulldogs will take the pitch again today when they host Cleveland State (7-4-1, 0-2-1)  at 3:30 p.m. for another Horizon League showdown.

While Saturday night might be all right for fighting, Saturday night was also all right for winning for the Butler women’s soccer team.

The Bulldogs (6-5-0, 1-1-0) took on Wright State in the first night game ever held at the Butler Bowl and walked away with a 1-0 win over the Raiders (5-4-2, 0-1-1).

“The atmosphere is just awesome when the lights are on,” junior forward Rachael Melendez said.

Photo by Reid Bruner

Butler had an early scoring attempt when Melendez drew a penalty shot. But the Bulldogs were unable to cash in, as Wright State sophomore goalkeeper Brooke McCurdy stopped the shot.

Butler’s next offensive push came in the 39th minute when freshman Elise Kotsakis blew by one defender before splitting two more near the 15-yard line.

Once there, she settled into a pocket and fired the ball into the net for the game’s first and only goal.

Butler proved to be up to the task of holding a 1-0 lead, as the defense stayed strong in the second half.

Senior goalkeeper Natalie Galovska made three critical saves in the match, including one that denied Wright State in a free kick situation from just outside the box.

“All I remember is seeing our defenders get organized,” Galovska said. “I was just able to get there, and I just reacted to the best of my capabilities.”

The Bulldogs outshot the Raiders 15-11, including a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal.

With the win, the Bulldogs gained valuable momentum heading into their next match with non-conference opponent Xavier.

The match against the Musketeers (6-4-0) will be played under the lights at the Butler Bowl Thursday at 7 p.m.

Photo by Maria Porter

The Butler women’s soccer team played two matches over the weekend, beating Eastern Michigan at home 2-1 before traveling to Eastern Illinois and coming away with a 3-2 victory.

The Bulldogs (4-2) got off to a slow start Friday versus Eastern Illinois, giving up two goals in the first 25 minutes.

Junior Kristin Germann accounted for both Eastern Illinois goals, and Butler found itself facing a 2-0 halftime deficit.

“It was a pretty unlucky situation,” sophomore defender Ali Backscheider  said.  “The ball got behind us, and we got broken down.”

Putting pressure on the Panthers (0-4-1) with a more attacking formation, the Bulldogs got their first breakthrough when sophomore Nikki Hafele scored a header in the 54th minute.

Junior Katie Griswold wasted no time in extending Butler’s lead, scoring a penalty kick just two minutes later.

The game-winner came from freshman Elise Kotsakis in the 69th minute.

With a lead, the Bulldogs were able to switch back to a more conservative formation and hold on for the victory.

Sophomore Jackie Hafele said coming back against the Panthers was simply a matter of the team believing in each other and in themselves.

“The coaches were very positive, and they knew we would win if we played our game,” Hafele said.  “Once they instilled that in us we were all like, ‘Yeah, we can do this.’”

Two days earlier, the Bulldogs played host to Eastern Michigan, picking up a 2-1 victory.

With the game knotted at 1-1, Jackie Hafele scored a header on a corner pass from freshman Stephanie Kaylor.

“I knew it was going to be our last chance, and I just got a head on it,” Hafele said.  “I knew I had to be ready once my name got called.  It was a great ball, and I just kind of pinned my mark off and scored.”

The goal gave Butler the win and kept Eastern Michigan (0-3-1) winless.

Despite the pair of wins, the Bulldogs realize there is room for improvement.

“One of our main goals is to get a shutout or at least try not to get scored on as early,” Backscheider said.

The Bulldogs will take the field again this weekend when they play Southeast Missouri State and Louisville in the University of Kentucky Tournament.

The Butler University women’s soccer team still is looking to achieve some consistency after a win on the road against Indiana State and a loss at home against No. 24 Oregon State in overtime.

On Friday, the Bulldogs (2-2) mustered just enough offense to come out on top 1-0 against the Sycamores (1-3).

Strong defense and a goal by freshman forward Elise Kotsakis with 12 minutes remaining led Butler to the victory. The win also gave senior goalkeeper Natalie Galovska her first career shutout.

Kotsakis scored via a header off a well-placed pass from freshman forward Lucy Chauvin into the six-yard box. The Bulldogs’ defense held Indiana State to seven shots, with only one of those being on goal. Butler took 13 shots, with four of them on goal.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs fell to nationally ranked Oregon State 2-1 after a hard-fought match that went into overtime.

Butler got off to a fast start against the Beavers (2-1) with a goal from junior forward Katie Griswold nine minutes into the match.

Griswold received a pass from sophomore midfielder Anna Ventimiglia, dribbled between two defenders and launched a hard shot just inside the left post.

The Bulldogs held the lead until Oregon State senior forward Melinda Ingalls scored at the 34:38 mark. Ingalls’ goal created a tie that was not broken in the second half, thanks in part to Butler’s defense.

“Our backline stuck to the game plan perfectly,” head coach Teri St. John said. “Natalie [Galovska] was so quick off her line. She solves problems before they become problems.”

With the game knotted up 1-1 at the end of regulation, the teams went to overtime. Just over four minutes into the overtime period, Oregon State sophomore midfielder Haley Shaw netted a goal to end the game.

Both teams had 13 shots, with Oregon State only having one more shot on goal (6-5) than Butler. The Bulldogs played a cleaner game than the Beavers, drawing eight fewer fouls.

Although the game ended in a loss, St. John said she was not dismayed by the results.

“Sometimes coaching is about making sure you see beyond the results,” St. John said. “I think we made progress as a team with this loss.”

Butler will welcome Eastern Michigan to the Butler Bowl on Friday at 5:00 pm before traveling to Eastern Illinois on Sunday.