HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Fifth seed Butler soccer traveled to the Salthawk Sports Complex Friday in chilly conditions as they defeated fourth seed Hutchinson, 2-0, in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 Region VI playoffs.

With the win, Butler moves on to semifinal play as they travel to first seed Barton on Thursday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. for a chance to move to the Region VI championship game.

The Grizzlies remain undefeated in opening round playoff games under head coach Adam Hunter with the win.

Butler quickly made it known that they came to play as freshman midfielder Sakiko Manabe netted her team-leading 10th goal this season in the eighth minute off an assist from sophomore midfielder Emma Kolbe to make it 1-0.

Sophomore goalkeeper Carla Apodaca played all 90 minutes and finished with four saves on four shots on goal. Butler outshot Hutchinson 12-8 and had seven corner kicks to the Blue Dragons three.

The Grizzly defense remained sharp throughout the game, turning away any Blue Dragon potential offense. The clincher came in the 75th minute when Kolbe had the ball in the corner, placed it perfectly in front of the opposite side post across the field to freshman defender Giselle Nash who headed it just inside the left pole and into the net to put Butler ahead 2-0. The goal was Nash's fourth of the season. Kolbe assisted on both Grizzly goals to up her team-high to 10 assists this year.