Tornado comeback falls short
BUTLER TWP — Its slow start to Thursday's season finale against Indiana forced Butler's boys lacrosse team into comeback mode.
The attempt fell two goals short.
The Indians out-shot Butler 11-3 in the first 10 minutes of the game while building a 4-1 lead. The Golden Tornado improved, offensively and defensively, but never did catch up to Indiana in a 10-8 loss at Art Bernardi Stadium.
On three occasions, Butler cut its deficit to one goal — 6-5 and 8-7 thanks to goals from Grant Terwilliger and Ayden Davis in the third quarter. Terwilliger tallied his third goal of the night to bring the Tornado to within 9-8 with 6:49 left to play, but it proved to be Butler's final goal.
“It was Senior Night and there was a lot of emotion at the start of the game,” said Butler coach Trevor Monteleone. “We settled down after the first quarter.”
And Butler could very well have ended the season with a win if not for the play of Indiana goalie Ian Steele, who finished the night with eight saves.
Trailing 8-7 late in the third quarter, Butler was primed to score the equalizer. Colin Whorf's point-blank shot was stopped by Steele and Davis soon controlled the rebound before unleashing a blistering shot toward the net. Again, Steele denied the attempt.
“He's been tracking the ball really well lately and came up with some big saves tonight,” said Indiana coach Joe Eckenrode. “Our play while being a man-down was also key.”
Butler (5-9) had a man-advantage three times in the final quarter, the last one coming with 50 seconds left. Steele denied Landon Dubyak, who had scored Butler's first goal of the game, with 40 seconds remaining and the playoff-bound Indians (11-4) capped the victory.
Zach Wood led the Indians with four goals, the final one coming just 16 seconds after Butler had cut its deficit to 9-8.“He's our top scorer and dominates the game,” said Eckenrode. “He has over 30 goals this season and that's with missing six games. He's a hockey player and Indiana made it to the state championship game, so he got a late start for us.”Tornado goalie Aiden Wagner stopped four shots.Butler's roster included just two players this season with varsity experience.“Our goal is to get to the playoffs and go from there,” said Monteleone. “So to be out of the playoffs, it's disappointing, but we're a young team with five total seniors.”Monteleone doesn't have to look far for bright spots. Two underclassmen — Davis and Terwilliger — scored seven of the team's eight goals Thursday.“That's a freshman and sophomore,” he said. “They have a lot of time to grow as players. A lot of the players coming back for us gained valuable varsity experience.”
