Unbeaten Foxes top Butler girls, 15-6
BUTLER TWP — With a good deal of the team feeling under the weather, substitutions might have been slim.
Still, Butler can’t make excuses if it wants to compete with formidable section foes such as Fox Chapel, who the Golden Tornado bowed to by a 15-6 final at home Thursday night.
“I thought we played pretty good to stay that close to them,” Butler coach Bob Conklin said. “I know a lot of the teams, they’ve been beating by 10 or more points.”
The Golden Tornado (2-4, 1-3) was coming off a promising showing against Freeport two days prior. It quickly faced a deficit when Fox Chapel sophomore Sydney Schutzman netted a goal with 20 seconds gone by.
Looking to build off an eight-score effort against the Yellowjackets, Butler senior and captain Evelynn Vissari matched the marker two-and-a-half minutes later before the Foxes (5-0, 4-0) ripped off six tallies in the following seven minutes.
“We do a really good job in transition,” Fox Chapel coach Kelly Cribby said. “We have some really quick middies ... who work super hard in the midfield for us, so that definitely helps us get up the field fast before the other defense is settled.”
Schutzman, Lindsay Scheffler, Sydney Kennedy, and Mercer Murton all got on the scoreboard during the surge.
Sophomore goalie Tess Petrucelli turned away five shots as her Foxes limited Butler to three first-half goals.
“They do a great job slowing down the ball,” Cribby said. “Tess Petrucelli comes up with really big, clutch saves, which also always changes the momentum of the game.”
Down 10-3 at the start of the second frame, senior Alana Collins and junior Mackenzie Gilliland pulled the Golden Tornado within five.
“They have a lot of speed,” Cribby said of her crew’s opponent. “They’re certainly hungry to go goal-to-goal ... It kept our defense honest. We couldn’t back off.”
However, Fox Chapel tacked on five of the last six goals.
For Conklin, the loss provides some insight into what his side needs to refine going into a matchup at North Allegheny Friday. He’s encouraged by the speed of players such as Piper Geibel, Vanessa Drohan, and Vissari, but feels things can be cleaned up.
“I think, on defense, we’re doing alright, it’s just moving the ball — passing and catching — we need a little bit more work on that,” Conklin said.
With 6:35 to go, senior Piper Geibel fired what ended up being the Golden Tornado’s last goal of the contest, giving her a hat trick on the night.
