Butler, Eastern Illinois Battle To A 2-2 Tie

Butler came from behind twice but couldn’t tally a go-ahead goal and had to settle for a 2-2 tie against Eastern Illinois in a men’s soccer exhibition match at the Butler Bowl on Tuesday (Aug. 24).  The tie left the Bulldogs at 1-0-1 in their first two exhibition contests.

The visiting Panthers broke a 0-0 deadlock in the 29th minute when Alex Koch served the ball to Alex Harrison, who re-directed it past Butler goalkeeper Fabian Knopfler and into the left-hand side of the net.

That initial score stood until less than two minutes remained in the 45-minute first period.  Sophomore Tyler Pollock took a pass from senior Brett Heinz and tied the score with a header that eluded Eastern Illinois goalkeeper Sean Molony.  The score came on Butler’s fifth an final shot of the first half.

The two squads then squared off in a 60-minute second period.  Butler pressed the attack in the early part of the final period, but couldn’t come up with a go-ahead score.  Eastern Illinois finally broke the tie again in the 82nd minute when Cameron Lauchner crossed the ball in front of Butler’s goal and Shawn Singh took the pass on the right side  and fired a shot into the back of the net.

The lead lasted just three minutes, before the Bulldogs answered.  Junior Lucas Eichhorn sent a pass into the middle of the field, and when the Panthers failed to clear it, sophomore Blake Leyden gathered the ball and launched a line-drive shot into the left side of the net.  Leyden’s goal wound up as the final tally of the match.

Both teams attempted 11 shots in the match, and both squads used three goalkeepers.  Knopfler played the first period for Butler, while freshman Andy Holte played the first 15 minutes of the second period.  Junior Nick Powell closed out the final 45 minutes in net and recorded both of Butler’s saves.

The Bulldogs, who defeated Dayton, 2-0, in their initial exhibition match, will close out the exhibition season with a match against Northwestern at IPFW on Sunday, Aug. 29.