Butler Falls At Home To Loyola
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Forward Katie Griswold scored her
team-leading eighth goal of the season, but it wasn’t enough
to carry Butler in its Horizon League showdown with Loyola.
The visiting Rambler scored twice in the second half and escaped
with a 2-1 victory at the Butler Bowl on Friday (Oct. 15).
Butler (5-10-0, 3-2 Horizon League), coming off back-to-back wins
over Green Bay and Milwaukee on a two-match trip to Wisconsin,
entered the match just one-half game behind league co-leaders
Loyola and Detroit in the conference standings. And the
Bulldogs looked ready to move up in the standings when Griswold
found the net in the 21st minute.
Freshman Jackie Hafele started the scoring play with an attack and
then dropped the ball back to Griswold, who lofted a shot over the
head of Loyola goalkeeper Katie Groesch from directly in front of
the goal. The opportunistic shot gave the Bulldogs a lead
that they carried to halftime.
But Loyola (6-9-1, 4-1-1 HL) tied the match at 63:28 on a
well-executed play by freshman Tricia Stonebraker. She deftly
dribbled past a Butler defender and launched a shot from 15 yards
out that found the right corner of the net. It was her third
goal of the season.
The Ramblers then tallied the game-winner ten minutes later on a
header from 10 yards out by Alex Brown off a centering pass from
Maggie Olsen. The decisive goal was the second of the season
for Brown.
“To be honest, I was concerned, even though there were five
days that separated us from the Green Bay and Milwaukee wins, that
mentally we were still recovering,” said Butler head coach
Tari St. John after the match. “The mental output and
energy that was put into that weekend took a toll on our young
team, and I think you started to see it in the second half.”
“We were just a step slow here and there. And
Loyola’s a good enough team that if you’re a step slow
they’re going to make you pay for it. I thought they
scored two quality goals,” added the Butler coach.
The two teams were nearly even in shots, with Butler holding a
slim, 9-8, advantage. Groesch, who improved to 6-8-1 on the
season, had one save in the match, while Butler goalkeeper Olivia
Walter (4-10-0) notched three saves.
Things don’t get easier for the Bulldogs, who will turn
around and head to Detroit for a match on Sunday, Oct. 17.
That contest is slated to start at 1 p.m. (ET).
