Freshman duo helps send Butler to BIG EAST final
Photo credit: Butler women’s soccer
INDIANAPOLIS — Both were selected to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. Both delivered huge tallies to lead No. 20 Butler to the conference championship game.
Freshman forward Caitlyn DiSarcina and first-year defender Julia Leonard scored the Bulldogs’ first and second goals, respectively, pacing Butler to a 3-0 home win over Providence on Thursday evening in the BIG EAST semifinals.
Butler didn’t wait long to open the scoring. A blast from outside the box by midfielder Paige Monaghan required a fingertip save from Providence goalkeeper Shelby Hogan, which then caromed off the woodwork and landed at the feet of forward Caitlyn DiSarcina. The freshman showed the poise of an upperclassman in calmly tapping the ball in to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Right place, right time for DiSarcina!@ButlerWSoccer takes a 1-0 lead in the #BIGEASTwsoc Semifinals pic.twitter.com/rg6zmgPt5u
— BIG EAST Champs (@BIGEASTchamps) November 2, 2017
The second goal also came on a tap in, but under different circumstances. A service from a corner kick created a scrum in the box, and Leonard flung her right foot out to flick the ball home just as multiple Friars attempted to recover.
The Bulldogs Take Control
Julia Leonard puts @ButlerWSoccer up 2-0 in the second half. #BIGEASTwsoc pic.twitter.com/meIbvUOVPF
— BIG EAST Champs (@BIGEASTchamps) November 3, 2017
The BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year provided the nail in the coffin. After nearly scoring on Butler’s first goal, Monaghan made sure of it with a late dagger that dashed any hopes Providence had of a comeback. The standout junior struck a low shot without much pace that somehow made its way through a couple Friars defenders and past Hogan.
Coming In Hot!
Paige Monaghan with a quick strike to put @ButlerWSoccer up 3-0.#BIGEASTwsoc pic.twitter.com/YzgHW0PeJ7
— BIG EAST Champs (@BIGEASTchamps) November 3, 2017
The Butler defense continued its dominance in the victory. Goalkeepers Hannah Luedtke and Leonie Doege combined with a back line rotation of Shannon McDevitt, Annika Schmidt, Leonard, Kyra Cooke and Amanda Kowalski for the clean sheet. Butler has only allowed a staggering four goals all season, tops in the country.
FULLTIME: @ButlerWSoccer 3, @PC_WomensSoccer 0
Goals from @cdisarcina10, @julesleonard3 and @PaigeeQuinn propel Butler to Sunday’s @BIGEAST title game Sunday vs. @HoyasWSoc. How even are the teams? Georgetown won 4-0 today and is ranked 20th. Butler 21st. Teams tied 0-0 last wk.
— Soc Takes (@SocTakes) November 3, 2017
Butler will now travel to Georgetown for the BIG EAST championship game Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The No. 19 Hoyas, the top seed in the conference tournament, demolished Marquette 4-0 on Thursday afternoon.
“It’ll be a great little rematch for us,” Butler co-head coach Tari St. John told ButlerSports.com‘s Chelsea Groves after the game. “It was 0-0 here and we’re looking forward to being able to play them again. Obviously they pose many challenges, but I think our team will be up for it.”
The conference title game will be shown live on FS1. With BIG EAST teams sporting low RPIs this season, it’s unclear how many at-large bids the conference will receive into the NCAA tournament.
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.
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