No. 12 Butler wins sixth straight, beats KCK 6-3 on road

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Butler soccer stayed undefeated in Jayhawk Conference play while running its winning streak to six games with a 6-3 road win over Kansas City Kansas on Sunday afternoon.

Sophomore forward Katie Hartman scored two goals and an assist to lead Butler (8-3 overall, 6-0 conference), who held a 5-1 lead at halftime.

The contest was originally scheduled at noon, but did not get underway until 1:30 p.m. due to referee unavailability.

Butler took a 3-0 lead just 27 minutes into the contest. Kennedy Weaver scored the opening goal for the Grizzlies in the 15th minute on a Hartman assist, then freshman Melonie Baca put Butler up 2-0 just under seven minutes later. Hartman followed with her first goal with 17:47 before halftime. Kyla Kreemer assisted on the goals scored by Baca and Hartman.

KCK finally got on the board when Serena Ortiz scored in the 32nd minute. Ortiz's goal marked the first time the Blue Devils had scored against the Grizzlies, as KCK had been shut out in six previous games against Butler.

The Grizzlies answered back with consecutive goals within 42 seconds of each other. Hartman scored on an assist from Zion DeWerff in the 34th minute, then Alexis Palmer added a goal on an Aylin Torres assist with 9:41 left in the half.

Ortiz netted her second goal less than two minutes into the second half to help KCK cut the deficit to 5-2. However, Butler would push the margin back to four in the 50th minute when Tiffany Butler scored an unassisted goal.

KCK's Emilie Lutz had the final goal of the game on an assist from Ortiz, coming on a corner kick in the 59th minute.

Butler outshot KCK 21-7 with 11 of the 21 shots coming on goal. Grizzly goalkeeper Elena Garcia made three saves while picking up her eighth win on the season.

The Grizzlies will next be in action Friday at Johnson County. Kickoff from Overland Park is at 3:00 p.m.

NOTES: Butler is now 7-0-0 all-time against Kansas City KS and moved to 4-0 in games played on the Blue Devils' soccer field... Butler extended its school record regular-season conference winning streak to 33 games... Hartman became the first Grizzly this season to score two or more goals in consecutive games. Hartman scored twice in Friday's 7-1 home win over Cowley.