Marquette left its Big East lid-lifter with a 2-1 win against DePaul last Thursday.
But the trend wouldn’t continue for the Golden Eagles (4-5-2), whose Big East undefeated streak ended in a 2-0 loss to the Butler Bulldogs (5-4-2) Sunday afternoon at Valley Fields.
“We knew that they were going to be able to be very good with the ball in the back, and in the first half we let them do what they wanted to do,” Marquette head coach Frank Pelaez said. “In the second half, we weren’t as patient and they took advantage of the two opportunities that they had. We really only gave them two opportunities.”
With the defeat, Marquette’s three game losing streak at home against Butler continues.
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Junior forward Kate Gibson finished with two shots and senior goalkeeper Mikki Easter earned one save.
Butler sophomore midfielder Talia Sommer and senior midfielder/forward Alli Leonard each scored one goal. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Pierce had one save and zero goals allowed.
No rewards for any efforts in the first half
Butler was able to keep possession of the ball for a majority of the first half, dictating the flow of the game.
The Bulldogs were patient with their attacks and in the 21st minute, redshirt senior Abigail Isger made a breakaway on the left side of the Golden Eagles’ net. As Isger was about to shoot, Marquette senior defender Aeryn Kennedy slid in front of the ball and stopped the goal attempt.
Marquette tried to respond, but the Golden Eagles were not able to make anything of it, ending the first half with zero shots.
After a physical 45 minutes with 16 fouls in total, both sides left the pitch scoreless.
Not one, but two
After a deadlocked opening 45 minutes, the two teams came out of the locker room looking to make a statement.
And in the 61st minute, Butler did.
Isger drew a penalty and Sommer put the ball in the left side of the net after Easter dove right, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
Butler didn’t let up though.
Ten minutes after their first goal, the Bulldogs scored their second when Leonard capitalized on a rogue ball and put it in the lower-left corner of the net, making it 2-0 Butler.
This score would hold until the buzzer rang out.
“The positive was the fact that we’re never gonna quit. It takes these types of games to show you that not everything is gonna go your way,” Pelaez said. “Credit to them. I think they stuck with things very well. They stayed with their game plan, and they kept it the whole time. It definitely worked out for them.”
Up Next
The Golden Eagles continue their Big East campaign as they travel to Omaha to play against Creighton (2-4-4) Thursday at 6 p.m. CST.
This story was written by Benjamin Hanson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @benhansonMU.
