INDIANAPOLIS – Kelly Findley’s Butler Bulldogs looked strong Tuesday, but a momentary lapse in concentration required the nation’s only undefeated, untied team to score a goal in the final 90 seconds for the 2-1 victory over 10-man Evansville.

Butler’s Kyle Pateros did the honors, skillfully volleying home a rebound of Adam Glanzer’s saved shot after Jamie Vollmer had sent an incredibly long throw-in across the field into the Evansville penalty area.

Butler didn’t dominate the match per se, but definitely had more of the ball and created more chances over 90 minutes. Findley said he was pleased with the team’s effort in the opening 45 minutes despite the match being scoreless.

“Our guys are good players and coachable, so when we made some changes and tried to emphasize some tactics, they grabbed ahold of it and tried to run with it,” Findley said.

Findley credited his team with playing smart soccer after going up a man in the 68th minute when Evansville's Tom Irvin (#7 Missouri Valley Top 20) was sent off for what looked like a punch thrown in front of the Butler goal.

“I think you see it’s still hard to score goals even though they’ve lost a player,” he said. “Usually people pull players from up top so it’s still the same guys behind the ball. I thought our guys moved the ball well and were disciplined and in the end we got the result we deserved.”

After a slow start to the match, it was Evansville with the first quality scoring chance.

Gavin Chura (#10 Missouri Valley Top 20) hit the crossbar for the Purple Aces in the 19th minute with a well taken free kick from 30 yards out.

In the 30th minute, Austin Oldham fired a close-range shot of which Evansville goalkeeper Robert Randant made a nice reflex save. Kyle Pateros then hit the rebound wide for the Bulldogs.

Butler’s Tyler Pollock (#19 Horizon League Top 20) played a perfect cross to meet the well-timed run of Jacob Capito in front of goal with 6 minutes remaining in the half, but the attempted finish was well off target.

Butler looked to increase the tempo as the 2nd half began. A free kick from deep in the Aces end was nearly directed into the goal by a defender, but the upright spared the Evansville man blushes.

The Butler pressure paid off however as, after earning a corner, Ben Sippola served a ball into the 6-yard box and Ade Oluyedun headed the ball in for a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. The corner kick was the 4th in succession earned by the Bulldogs over a 2-minute spell.

The Butler back line is definitely the strength of the team, with Brett Heinz, Matt Hedges (#94 Upperclassmen Top 100, #2 Horizon League Top 20), Conner Burt (#11 Horizon League Top 20) and Jared Isenthal (#17 Horizon League Top 20) working as a cohesive unit and denying Evansville in its attempts to get behind their line.

Butler kept pressing forward and an Evansville giveaway in the back gifted Capito with a 1v1 opportunity but the forward’s deft chip of the goalkeeper went just wide.

Evansville equalized against the run of play on a well-taken corner kick from Gavin Chura that Tom Irvin headed home.

Joy went to heartache within a minute for Mike Jacobs’ team however when Irvin was dismissed from the game apparently for a combination of a hard foul and dissent. Down to 10 men, Evansville immediately found itself on its back foot, fending off repeated Butler attacks.

Kyle Pateros played a great ball over the top in the 79th minute for Julian Cardona (#5 Horizon League), who controlled well but then blasted into the side of the net from close range.

The legendary throw-in of Jamie Vollmer led directly to the winning goal. From 15 yards wide left, the former Indiana United club player ran down the hillside surrounding the Butler Bowl and threw the ball all the way across the area. From there, Adam Glanzer controlled the ball and hit a close-range shot that Randant saved with his torso, but the rebound came to Pateros who controlled very well and volleyed home with less than a minute left to give the Bulldogs the 2-1 win.

Evansville Lineup
GK: Robert Randant
D: Aaron Henkle, Jarrett Robbins, Brandon Causey
M: Robby Lynch, Alex Kapsalis, Trevor Schmidt, Tad Kreamalmeyer
F: Gavin Chura, Tom Irvin, Tyler Kincaid
Subs: Joel Nash, Phillip Manga, Jesse Sharp, Mike Luttrull

Butler Lineup
GK: Fabian Knopfler
D: Brett Heinz, Conner Burt, Matt Hedges, Jared Isenthal,
M: Ben Sippola, JC Aikenhead, Kyle Pateros
F: Julian Cardona, Adekunle Oluyedun, Austin Oldham
Subs: Jacob Capito, Jordan Burt, Tyler Pollock, Adam Glanzer