No. 17 Butler rallies to escape KCKCC women’s soccer upset bid

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

For 50 minutes, Kansas City Kansas Community College’s women’s soccer team stood on the footsteps of the season’s biggest upset in the Jayhawk Conference.

Playing at No. 17 ranked Butler County in El Dorado Friday, the Lady Blue Devils jumped in front 1-0 on a goal by sophomore Serena Ortiz of Bishop Ward from the right side just 7:42 in the game and the Blue Devils stayed in front until Butler’s Holly Stewart tied it with seven minutes left in the half.

Butler, which had taken a 6-3 win over KCKCC earlier, then went ahead to stay 2-1 on a goal by Alexis Palmer with 40 minutes left and it stayed that way until the Grizzlies added a clinching goal by Kennedy Weaver with 5½ minutes remaining.

The 3-1 win gave Butler a share of the Jayhawk and Region VI championships with No. 18 ranked Johnson County. Both teams finished 11-1 in regional play and 14-4 overall.

KCKCC finished the season with a 7-10 overall record and 3-9 conference mark with four of the losses coming at the hands of the ranked co-champions. The seven wins are the most ever recorded by a Lady Blue Devil team.