Box Score
CINCINNATI – The Butler women's soccer team scored three first half goals to defeat the Xavier Musketeers on Friday night.
Paige Monaghan scored the first two goals of the contest while
Shannon McDevitt chipped in for the final score of the game.
The Bulldogs were in must-win mode this evening with a BIG EAST Championship Tournament berth on the line. The victory gave Butler three points in the conference standings, one point more than the Creighton Bluejays who matched up against the Georgetown Hoyas in Omaha.
BU attacked from the opening kick to take full control of the match. The scoring would open up with
Brenna Pawelkowski finding
Jamison Midgley near the top of the field. Midgley would work past a defender and send a cross into the box where
Paige Monaghan finished without the ball touching the ground.
Nearly five minutes later at the 15:16 mark, Butler would score again off a similar setup. This time
Gabrielle Lemkuil would find Midgley who once again worked with the ball up the far side of the field. Midgley sent the ball into the box where Monaghan would beat the keeper with a header goal.
Monaghan's fifth and sixth goals of the season would put BU in the driver's seat and a final goal from McDevitt would seal the deal for the Bulldog victory. McDevitt took a ball from
Serina Kashimoto and cashed in on her second goal of the year at the 30:58 mark.
The 'Dawgs faced three XU goalkeepers on Friday night. Rachel Piccus got the start, but had to leave the game with an injury. Toni Bizzarro replaced her and ended up allowing all three goals. The third keeper, Libby Grace, logged the final 6:24 minutes of the game.
Knowing that they needed a win to leap Creighton in the BIG EAST standings, the Bulldogs came out ultra-aggressive in the opening 45 minutes. They outshot the Musketeers 14-7 in the first half, but that stat would even out at 2-2 in the second.
Hannah Luedtke kept Xavier off the scoreboard with five saves. Kobashigawa led Xavier with two shots, each of which ended up on goal. Monaghan led the way for Butler with five total shots.
The Bulldogs will move on to the BIG EAST Championship Tournament with a win from Georgetown. The seeds are not yet determined, but competition will get underway on campus sites this coming Tuesday, Nov. 1.
