March 11, 2006
Eight second-half goals gave Marist a come-from-behind 11-8 win over Butler Saturday afternoon at the Butler Bowl in Indianapolis. Butler held a 6-1 advantage with 10:17 remaining in the second period after six straight goals before the Red Foxes tallied 10 of the game's final 12 goals for the win. With the win, Marist improves to 1-1, while Butler falls to 1-3.
Tim Iuculano gave Marist a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal at the 5:13 mark of the first period. Butler responded less than two minutes later when a Phil Brauch laser found the net from 15 yards out. It was the first of six consecutive Butler tallies. Jim Fairweather, Jeremy Sieverts, Dan McLoughlin and Cliff Smith (two goals) scored during the spurt.
Bill Duerr and Iuculano scored for the Red Foxes late in the second period to send the teams to the half with Butler leading 6-3.
It was Butler that used a big second half in last week's comeback win over Bucknell. The Bulldogs shut Bucknell out in the second half and turned a 6-2 deficit into a 7-6 victory. However, Marist played the role of the comeback kids Saturday.
Andrew Walsh scored twice, sandwiched around a Tim Pfeffer goal to knot the score at six with 3:52 to play in the third period. The tying goal came when Walsh intercepted a clearing pass and beat Butler goalie Ryan Kaiser one-on-one just outside the crease. The Bulldogs retook the lead 40 seconds later when junior Pat Hurto found McLoughlin in front of the net for a score.
The 7-6 lead wouldn't last long in the fourth period as Marist scored three times in the first three minutes to take a 9-7 advantage. The lead would grow to 10-7 before senior Doug Mathias tallied a man-down goal with 2:13 to play to pull Butler within two. However, a late run of shots by the Bulldogs couldn't find the back of the net and the Red Foxes added an insurance goal with 39 seconds to play for the 11-8 final.
The Bulldogs out-shot Marist, 40-27, but the Red Foxes' freshman goalie, Ryan Penner, turned 19 of those shots away, including seven saves in the fourth period. Butler also held a 36-25 advantage in ground balls and won 13 of 23 face-offs with Sebastian Paul winning 9-of-15.
Kaiser made nine saves for the Bulldogs. He joined Brian Welch and Carlos Navarro with a team-high total of four ground balls. Brauch and Smith led Butler with eight shots apiece.
Butler was successful on 19 of 23 clear attempts, but all four unsuccessful attempts occurred in the second half and two led directly to Marist scores. The Red Foxes cleared at a 19-of-26 rate and converted two of nine extra-man opportunities. Butler was 1-of-5 with the extra man.
The Bulldogs take to the road during the university's week of Spring Break, traveling to Towson Wednesday and Delaware Saturday. With its next five games on the road, Butler doesn't return to the Butler Bowl until April 8 when the team hosts Notre Dame in the Great Western Lacrosse League opener.