The Bulldogs opened 2019 Thursday afternoon, taking on the Duquesne Dukes in Indianapolis. The Dukes used a strong second half to come out on top of the Bulldogs, 16-8

It was the tale of two halves, as the Bulldogs only trailed by two going into halftime (6-4). Butler was then outscored 10-4 in the second half as the Dukes stormed ahead to take the win.

Duquesne began the first half on a 3-0 run before the Bulldogs could find the back of the net. The Dukes scored a man-up goal by Haley Matthai, followed by a goal from Sarah Kollhoff just over a minute later. Michaela Connolly notched Duquesne's third goal in the 21^st minute.

Freshman Holly Hall broke up the Duquesne run, netting her first goal in a Butler uniform in the 15^th minute. The goal was assisted by another rookie, Layla Tattersfield.

Duquesne would score the next two goals before Butler went on a three-goal run to come within one of the Dukes. Karina Latsko started the run, scoring off a free position shot in the 9^th minute. Rachel Kegler and Hannah Justice also scored off a free position shot to cut the lead to one with three minutes to go in the first half. Duquesne would score its sixth goal of the half with just 23 seconds to play to take the 6-4 lead into the break.

Butler struck first in the second half, with Latsko scoring her second goal of the game, assisted by Sydney Pattison. Duquesne quickly answered with a Megan Buettner goal. Ashley Guerra scored her first goal of the season to bring the Bulldogs back at 7-6, but Duquesne scored four goals in just over a minute to take its biggest lead of the game, 11-6.

The Dukes did not look back as their defense only allowed two more Bulldog goals, scored by Guerra and Latsko. Latsko would end the day with a hat trick for the Bulldogs.

Buettner was the driving force for the Dukes, scoring four goals. Connolly also posted a hat trick to help give Duquesne its second win of the season.

In goal, Amanda Rumsey made 14 saves in the loss, moving her to 0-1. Duquesne's Maddy Curtis made 6 saves in her second win of the year.

The Bulldogs are back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 19, making the trip to Detroit to take on the Titans at 1 p.m.