Youngstown, Ohio – The Butler women's lacrosse team came just short of pulling off a comeback, losing 19-18 to the Youngstown State Penguins on Sunday.
 
How it Happened:
The Bulldogs wasted no time, firing off a goal in the first 22 seconds of the first period, on the way to taking an early 3-0 lead. Leah Rubino struck first, followed by Campbell Connors and Kate Kaptrosky. The Penguins would respond, scoring four goals in the period to make the score 5-4 after the first 15 minutes of play.

In the second period, Youngstown State would tie the game at 6-6 with two consecutive goals would from Sydney Bumstead. A goal from Butler's Luci Selander would tie the game once more at 7-7 before Youngstown State went on a 6-1 scoring run to make the score 12-8 in favor of the Penguins with 27 seconds left to go in the half. A last second shot attempt from Caroline Ross went between the goalie's legs to add one more goal on the board on the Dawgs going into half. Rubino led the Dawgs going into break with two goals and one assist.

The second half began with Caroline Smith taking over goalkeeping duties for Butler. Smith would save the first two shots she saw in the period. Both teams traded a few goals before KK Callaghan drove a shot into the back of the net off a free position to cut the Youngstown State lead to 13-11 at the 11:12 mark. Two consecutive goals for the Penguins and the third goal of the day for Selander ended the period with Youngstown State up 15-12.

A total for four goals were scored in the first five minutes of the fourth period to take the score to 17-14 in favor of Youngstown State. Rubino's fourth goal of the game, a career-high, sparked what became a 4-0 goal run for the Bulldogs. Falling down to the ground, Patricia Lynn scored a free position goal to tie the game at 17-17 with 7:02 left to play. When Youngstown State took back the lead, Butler responded two minutes later with the fifth goal of the day for Selander. In goal, Smith would make a huge save with 1:22 left. However, with 13 seconds left on the clock, Penguins' Erin Clark found the back of the net of a play where Butler was a woman down for the game-winning goal.
 
Notable Stats:

• Kayleigh Colleary, Lucy Hankins, Lynn and Lauren Dunne all made their first career starts.
• Selander scored five goals in her Butler debut. She is the fifth player in program history with five goals in a single game.
• Leah Rubino scored a career-high four goals.
• Callaghan ended the game with three goals.
• Kaley Attaway logged a goal and one assist.
• Smith had a career-high four saves.
• Aleigh Monroe played the first half in goal for Butler and had two saves on the day.
• Meaghan Trainer led the team in draw controls with seven.
• The Bulldogs had a 9-2 advantage on draw controls in the fourth period.
• Butler outshot Youngstown State 17-12 and outscored them 9-7 in the second half.

 
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will host Kent State at Varsity Field for the season home opener on Saturday, Feb. 18. First draw is set for 1 p.m.