Lady Tiger soccer bounces back with big win over No. 9-ranked Butler

Coming off its first loss of the season, the No. 14-ranked Cowley College women's soccer team came back with a vengeance as they knocked off No. 9-ranked Butler Community College 3-2 Saturday in Arkansas City.

The victory improves Cowley's record to 7-1-1 overall and 6-1 in the Jayhawk Conference Western Division. The Lady Tigers remain just behind conference-leading Barton (7-1) in the standings.

"It was a great game against a really good team," Cowley head coach Roberto dos Santos said. "The loss to Barton was really hard to digest, but we kept emphasizing to the girls how good they can be."

The loss for Butler (9-4) was their first of the season in the Jayhawk Conference as they are now 7-1 in the Jayhawk East.

On Saturday, Cowley, whom the Grizzlies defeated in the Region VI quarterfinal round last spring, showed they were ready from the start as they scored two goals in the first five minutes of the game to take a 2-0 lead.

"To hurt them with two goals in the first five minutes was special, but we made mistakes that allowed them to come back with two goals," Dos Santos said.

Marta Aranda scored Cowley's first goal only 27 seconds into the contest. Leticia Belloni would score the Lady Tigers' second goal just over three and a half minutes later as it looked as if Cowley would cruise in the game.

However, Butler started their comeback just two minutes after falling behind 2-0 with a goal from Kim McAlpine. Brooklyn Hunter would later tie the game with only one minute before halftime.

Cowley, again, struck early in the second half scoring what would be the game winner off a 40-yard free kick from Leticia Belloni in the 50^th minute. The two goals by Belloni now give her a team-leading seven goals on the season.

"It was good to see Leticia finish her opportunities," Dos Santos said.

Cowley goalkeeper Makayla Farquharson finished with five saves in the win.

The Lady Tigers will now prepare to play at Johnson County Monday at 4 p.m. The Cavaliers are 4-4 on the season with three of their four losses coming by one goal.

"In less than 48 hours we will play another important game against Johnson, so we will need to be ready to go," Dos Santos said.