ZACH HORRALL | STAFF REPORTER
The Butler University women’s soccer team defeated Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis with a score of 2-0 on Tuesday night at Carroll Stadium keeping their undefeated streak alive at 3-0-1 on the season.
Just 2:30 into the game, Butler’s freshman midfielder Jenna Dorchock scored the first goal for the Bulldogs on an assist from outside defender Maria Collica.
Freshman forward Halle Stelbasky felt the quick start to the game was very important.
“I think we started really strong, which is really important in any game for us, especially the first 10 minutes,” she said. “We were just relaxed, which actually made us play our game quicker and faster.
Near the 6 minute mark, senior midfielder Sophia Maccagnone scored the second goal after a pass from forward Paige Monaghan. Maccagnone’s shot was saved, but she was able to rebound it, and her second shot went into the net. Monaghan was credited with an assist on this play.
https://twitter.com/ButlerWSoccer/status/638823184662315008
“We talked about starting the game fast,” Butler co-head coach Rob Alman said. “We thought it was the one piece that was missing out of the last game against Milwaukee. So just starting bright and being a little bit more sharper with our front three in particular [was the goal], and they did a fantastic job with getting two goals in the first 6 minutes.”
After the first 10 minutes of the game, the Bulldogs slowed the pace of the game down. Throughout the first half of the game, Butler dominated offensively as IUPUI spent most of the first half defending their goal rather than charging towards Butler’s.
Goalkeeper Madison Card said she was not phased by IUPUI’s strong second-half start.
“It didn’t worry us,” she said. “We knew they were going to come back fighting. They were down two goals, and so they’re going to come back fighting, and we were prepared for that. I think we stuck with it pretty well.”
Maccagnone ended the game with the highest stats for Butler. She had eight shots and three shots on goal to go along with the goal she made early in the game.
Alman said, “In the second half, we had a few decent chances [for goals]. The real disappointment for us was the first 25 minutes of the game. We created so many good chances at that point, but we felt like for us to really progress, if we could turn 2-nil into 3-nil or 4-nil in those first 20-25 minutes, it’s a very different game.”
The women’s soccer team is back in action on Thursday as they travel to Terre Haute to play the Indiana State University Sycamores.
