Butler soccer picked up its 300th win in program history Saturday with a 4-0 home victory over Neosho County on sophomore day at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex.
Grizzly freshman forward Maju Valaski scored two goals and had an assist, while the Butler defense blanked an opponent for the second consecutive game. The Grizzlies have six shutouts on the season, with four of them coming against Jayhawk Conference oppoenents.
With the win, Butler (10-4-1 overall, 6-3-1 conference) remains a half-game behind Kansas City Kansas in the Jayhawk East standings with two games remaining. The Grizzlies will play a 2:00 p.m. road game at Allen on Saturday, then end the regular season at league-leading Cowley on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
The top two teams in each division will host a quarterfinal round game in the Region VI playoffs, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 26. The winners will advance to the Region VI semifinals on Thursday, Oct. 31, with both semifinal winners then moving on to the NJCAA Plains District Tournament in Wichita on Nov. 6-7.
Playing into heavy wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour during Saturday's first half against Neosho, Butler managed to score two goals for a 2-0 halftime lead.
Sandra Thiman put the Grizzlies on the board in the 12th minute by heading in a Rachel Wolecki corner kick, putting in the ball just inside the left post.
In the 24th minute, Valaski scored her first goal of the season after battling a defender for the ball on a Maizi Garwood pass, then dribbled past the Neosho defense and beat Panthers goalkeeper Paige Ellis one-on-one for the goal.
Valaski put Butler up 3-0 in the 56th minute as she headed in a Karter Corini pass just under the crossbar for her second goal. Corini sent in a cross just outside the left of the 18-yard box for Valaski, who jumped up in the air to head in the ball from eight yards out.
Valaski assisted on Butler's final goal in the 85th minute, as Isabela Fernandes hit a right-footed shot from 12 yards out for her first goal of the year.
Butler starting goalkeeper Lexi Winkle made two saves in the first half, while reserve keeper Angie Ojeda did not face a shot with Neosho going against the win for the final 45 minutes. The Grizzlies outshot Neosho 14-3 and had a 12-0 advantage in corner kicks.
NOTES: Butler improves to 27-0-1 all-time over Neosho County. The Grizzlies remain undefeated at home against the Panthers with a 15-0-0 record…. Butler has recorded five straight shutouts over Neosho and has blanked the Panthers in eight of the last nine meetings.
