Raymond Hoare
Student Sports Media
It was a season to remember for Head Coach Adam Hunter and the Grizzlies, as there were ups and down starting out, but the Grizzlies found their way back to the national soccer tournament after missing out last season. The Grizzlies took home the Plains District champion title and punched their tickets to Foley, Alabama to face off with the No. 2 Monroe (New York) Mustangs and No. 7 Lewis and Clark (Illinois) Trailblazers in Pool C.
The Grizzlies took on the Monroe Mustangs on Monday, Nov. 12, Monroe entered the game undefeated, pouring a different challenge for the Grizzlies, who lost 1-0 in overtime.
The Grizzlies played fast offensively like they had done throughout the season. They got some good looks but missed opportunities occurred. In the 37th minute, sophomore forward Paige Achey was on the fast break, and sophomore keeper Marta Alemany of Monroe went out of the box and tripped up Achey and no foul was called.
The defense was outstanding as sophomore keeper Bethany Reeves had six saves during the first half.
“It was an adrenaline rush and exciting, but all of those saves were possible by my defense, as well adding pressure to the other team’s offense,” Reeves said.
In the 70th minute, a penalty kick was awarded to Butler as a Monroe defender touched the ball with her hand inside the box. Freshman forward Elise Leidersten took a shot and Alemany blocked the penalty shot.
As regulation ended scoreless, it went to overtime.
Five minutes into overtime play, sophomore mid-fielder Angie Ponce of Monroe scored the game ending goal. The goal was the first Butler’s defense had allowed in almost 600 minutes of play
The Butler Grizzlies were not out yet as they played the Lewis and Clark Trailblazers on Tuesday, Nov. 13. This was a must win game for the Grizzlies as a loss would mean elimination. They would eventually lose in overtime 3-2.
In the first half, sophomore mid-fielder Taylor Hansen of the Trailblazers scored a goal, making the score, 1-0.
The Grizzlies kicked it into gear as they managed to draw a penalty kick in the 48th minute. Achey was in the box taking a shot, and it was blocked by freshman keeper Mercedes King, but Leidersten ran up field and scored the goal off the rebound, tying the game, 1-1.
Ten minutes later, freshman backfield Abby Edson scored a goal, giving Butler a 2-1 lead.
In the 79th minute, freshman mid-fielder Boitumelo Rabale of the Trailblazers scored from far out, knotting up the score at two.
Yet again, Butler went to overtime. Butler’s defense did its job to hold their ground, but as the game was seeming to go to a second overtime, sophomore forward Senate Letsie scored the game winning goal for Lewis and Clark, thus ending the Butler Grizzlies season.
“For this group to have resolve and get themselves put together down the stretch of the year and really start to defending and not giving up goals and getting back to the national tournament,” Hunter said. “This is a group I will be proud of for a long time.”
For the team, it was sad to end the season the way they did, but they did not let them hang their heads on the succesful season.
“This season was very special from beginning,” Reeves said. “We had players coming back from previous injuries, freshman coming in and more. We stayed focused, encouraged each other the whole season, put in the time and effort during and outside of practice, and kept our biggest goal: ‘nationals,’ in our sights the whole time. We definitely progressed through the season, building team chemistry and learning ways to win when we were losing early or late in a game.”
