The Bulldogs fell to Xavier by a 2-0 decision Thursday night as snow fell at the Sellick Bowl. The Musketeer's bookend goals (in the third and 89th minutes) eliminated a Bulldog response.
BIG EAST Tournament Outlook
With the win, the Musketeers (14-3-2, 7-2-0 BE) are crowned regular season champions, securing the No. 1 seed and a first round bye.
The Bulldogs (10-5-3, 5-1-2 BE), locked in as the No. 3 seed, will host a BIG EAST quarterfinal match Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Sellick Bowl. That will be against the No. 6 seed, which will be determined following Friday's match between Marquette and DePaul (postponed after originally being scheduled for Thursday night). Butler's Sunday opponent will be DePaul, Marquette or Providence.
Coach Alman on the Match
"It's a tough league this year with a lot of quality teams," said coach
Rob Alman following the match. "So for (Xavier) to come out on top at the end of the nine games is a credit to them. Conceding the early goal was really the difficult piece. I felt we had a lot of opportunities and chances after that, but chasing a game against a team like them- that is more than happy to play direct, knock balls forward, and make tactical fouls against us… it becomes very difficult to chase a team like that."
How It Happened:
The conference leading Musketeers did not let freezing temperatures cool their offense, as Carrie Lewis got Xavier out to a 1-0 lead three minutes into the match. The strike ended Stephanie Rodriquez's five-game conference shutout streak.
The Butler back-line, down senior defender
Annika Schmidt, buckled down to hold the Xavier without another score through the remainder of the first half. The Musketeers took 12 shots in the first 45 minutes as Rodriguez grabbed six saves in every possible manner.
The next half saw an uptick in aggression on both sides, as the Musketeers received two cautions and the Bulldogs received one.
Amanda Kowalski attempted two long range shots and several free kick set-ups, but could not finalize the execution.
With less than two minutes remaining, Xavier powered a kick deep into Bulldog territory. Brooke Sroka took advantage of the forward-pressing Butler defensive to nail the insurance goal.
Notable Facts:
- Butler advances to their sixth BIG EAST post-season, fourth consecutive
- Kowalski led the Bulldogs with five shots on goal
- Freshmen Alana Wood and Gretchen Skoglund contributed the other two shots for BU
- Rodriquez picked up eight total saves
- Xavier held a strong advantage on shots (18-7) and corners (5-1)
- The Musketeers are the only 2019 opponent to hold the Bulldogs scoreless in a loss. Both of Butler's two other scoreless games (Utah and Georgetown) have resulted in draws.
