TOPEKA, Kan. – The Butler soccer team has advanced to the Region VI championship match for the fourth consecutive year, defeating archrival Hutchinson 4-2 at Hummer Sports Park.
The Grizzlies, ranked fifth nationally, now will face either No. 9 Johnson County or No. 16 Barton County in the championship game at 10 a.m. The winner will advance to the NJCAA National Tournament later this month in Melbourne, Fla. Butler will be looking for a third straight nationals appearance.
Butler jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the contest. The first goal came when Brittney Lawrence took a pass from Morgan Foster and used her left foot to send a ball on the ground just inside the left post in the seventh minute. The two players changed places for the second goal, as Lawrence played a ball in the air toward Foster, who headed it into the back of the next in the 11th minute.
The Grizzlies looked to be in control of the match, but Hutchinson cut the gap in half and gained an advantage when Lamya Scott was called for a foul in the box in the 19th minute. She was given a red card, leaving Butler a player short for the remainder of the contest. Hutchinson was given a penalty kick, and Jenny Rogers pushed the ball past Butler keeper Kelsi Langley to make it a 2-1 game.
Despite being a player down, Butler was able to score a third goal in the 36th minute on a corner kick from Paige Thompson that was headed into the net by Madison Wedekind to put the Grizzlies ahead 3-1 at the half.
Wedkind would go on to score again in the 71st minute on ball ricocheted off the Hutch keeper just enough for her to get a put back goal. Hutch added a late goal from Jenny Rogers in the 84th minute to close the scoring.
The Grizzlies have now won a season-high 13 consecutive wins and move to 20-2 on the season, marking the third consecutive season in which Butler has won 20 or more matches. It also marks Butler's fourth consecutive win over Hutchinson and the second straight season in which the Grizzlies have ended the season for the Blue Dragons. Butler moves back ago above .500 in the all-time series against Hutchinson at 8-7.
