Butler soccer wins Jayhawk East crown, shuts out KCK 8-0

Butler soccer had no problems clinching the Jayhawk East Division title outright on Sunday with an 8-0 shutout against Kansas City Kansas.

With the win, Butler also set a school record for most consecutive home victories with 22 straight, which spans all the back to the 2014 season. The Grizzlies won 21 straight games (Aug. 2004 to Sept. 2006).

The division title is Butler's first, as the Jayhawk Conference was realigned into two divisions this season. The Grizzlies won the conference four of the last five seasons before the re-alignment.

Against KCK, the third-ranked Grizzlies (15-2-0 overall, 10-0-0 conference) received two first-half goals each from Michelle Palfrey and Lauren Allan. In her first start, freshman goalkeeper Elena Garcia was credited with her first win in goal.

With an assist from Dani Cole, Palfrey scored the game's first goal by putting a shot into the upper right corner of the net in the 11th minute. Just over six minutes later, Palfrey added an unassisted goal, connecting from the left side with the left foot.

Butler went up 3-0 in the 31st minute when Pearl Imperial tapped in a pass from Kennedy Weaver in front of the net.

Allan then scored consecutive goals in the 38th and 43rd minute, both assisted by Katie Hartman. Allan broke away from the KCK defense for the first goal, then beat the keeper 1-on-1 and scoring in the left side of the net for her second.

The Grizzlies added three second-half unassisted goals from Lexi Clark, Weaver and Cole.

Butler outshout the Blue Devils by a 32-3 margin and had a 6-1 corner kick advantage. Only one of the three shots by KCK was on goal, which was saved by Garcia.

Butler will finish out the conference schedule this weekend, beginning with a road match at Cowley on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Grizzlies will return home for a Sunday contest against Neosho County, with the kickoff at 7:00 p.m.

NOTES: Butler improved to 6-0-0 all-time against Kansas City Kansas. The Grizzlies have yet to allow a goal to the Blue Devils in six games... With Sunday's win, Butler tied its third-longest winning streak in program history. The Grizzlies won 15 straight during the 2005 season. The school record is 19 straight wins, which was set in 2012. Butler also won 17 consecutive games last season.