The Grizzlies push into the offensive third. It took 61 minutes for Butler to finally score, and Butler outlasted Johnson in a 1-0 win on Sunday, Sept. 10. Matthew Will
Matthew Will
Sports Media Staff
Friday, the seventh-ranked Butler soccer team began September with back-to-back losses in Texas. on Sept. 1, the Grizzlies fell to No. 10 Navarro College, 2-0. This game marked the first time Butler had been shut out since 2014. Later that weekend, the Grizzlies finished their road trip and non-conference season with No. 3 Tyler (Texas). Despite Zion DeWerff’s first career collegiate goal, Butler fell 2-1.
As the non-conference season ended, the Grizzlies had dropped three straight. Things were not looking good approaching the conference season. Butler had five days to fix their negatives and prepare for Coffeyville.
“Our whole schedule up until the conference is designed to challenge us,” Butler Head Coach Adam Hunter said. “I think that we accomplished that objective.”
Butler stole a 3-2 victory over rival Coffeyville to begin conference play on Friday, Sept. 8. Freshman Aylin Torres scored her first collegiate goal in the second half, which turned out to be the deciding score. Hunter added his thoughts on goalkeeper Elena Garcia.
“Elena’s off to a pretty good start,” Hunter said. “We’re glad to have her back there.”
Sunday, Sept. 10, the Grizzlies continued their conference season with a close 1-0 win over No. 11 Johnson County. The deciding goal in Butler’s win over Johnson was Kaylee Swanson’s first collegiate goal, in the 61st minute. Johnson and Butler are used to fighting for the top spot in the Jayhawk East.
“Now we’re in the driver’s seat in the East,” Hunter said. “We beat a good team tonight… a win is a win; this one was a little bigger than that.”
When the Grizzlies took the field on Friday, Sept. 8, many new things greeted fans’ eyes. Freshman Erin Akin had moved from a backup forward position to more of a center back position to help in the transition defense.
“I think that [Akin’s] attributes fit that defensive center midfield position for us… she’s done well there,” Hunter said.
Hunter would love to get sophomore forward Ky Kreemer healthy and back to playing a full 90 minutes.
“You could see Kyla changed the game for us in the second half,” Hunter said Sunday night, Sept. 10.
The Grizzlies (4-3 overall, 2-0) continued their 2017 campaign with 3-2 win against Neosho County on Wednesday, Sept. 13. Neosho is also known for contending for the Jayhawk East with Butler. Later in the week, Butler continued on the road to take on Allen County, who the Grizzlies have never lost to, on Saturday, Sept. 16.
