The Butler women's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to Illinois on Thursday.  The Fighting Illini move to 5-1-0, while Butler moves to 4-3-0 with two non-conference games remaining.

It marked the Bulldogs' third match of the season against a Big Ten foe, previously splitting decisions against Wisconsin and Michigan State. 

How It Happened:
Illinois took an early command of the match, but were unable to crack through the Bulldogs defense. In the 18^th minute, the Fighting Illini caught a break as Kelly Maday was able to knock in an unassisted goal, putting Illinois up 1-0. 

The Bulldogs regained some momentum, taking six shots through the first period, including several on goal.  A combination of deflections, blocks and saves kept Butler off the scoreboard going into halftime.

Out of the locker room, both teams began pushing the boundaries physically, as Macy Miller of Butler and Lexi Carrier of Illinois received yellow cards within five minutes of each other.

In the 58^th minute, the Fighting Illini earned a penalty kick and Eileen Murphy sunk the one-on-one against Stephanie Rodriguez, giving Illinois the 2-0 advantage.

Finally, after creating several offensive opportunities, Katie Soderstrom took her defender one-on-one to get a shot on goal.  Fighting Illini goalkeeper Jaelyn Cunningham had to dive to block the attempt, allowing for Anja Savich to chip in a goal on the rebound.

The Fighting Illini penalty kick would end up being the deciding factor, as time expired with a 2-1 final score.

Notable Stats From the Pitch:

• Butler took a dominating 20 shots in the game, while holding Illinois to just four.
• Savich scored her fifth goal of the year in just seven games. 
• Soderstrom continued her assist streak after creating the opportunity for Savich. She jumps to seven assists on the year in as many games.
• Cunningham made seven saves for the Fighting Illini, while also knocking out at least two corner kicks from the Bulldogs.

 
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will be back in action in the Sellick Bowl on Sunday, September 15, when they host Kent State.  Before the match-up, Butler will celebrate Senior Day, recognizing six seniors: Carly Goehring, Macy Miller, Lauren Ronnfeldt, Taylor Reid, Annika Schmidt, and Alyssa Yarosz.

Kick-off is set for 1 PM, with the senior recognition occurring 20 minutes before game time.

The Bulldogs will get nearly a full week break before jetting off to Utah for their final non-conference contest of the season.