Blue Demons drop 3-2 home decision against Butler

Saturday, October 3

Chicago, Ill.

1 P.M. CT

DePaul University

3-3-5, 0-1-2

Butler

6-2-3, 1-0-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Butler	1	2	3
DePaul	1	1	2

Blue Demons drop 3-2 home decision against Butler

10/3/2026 4:17:00 PM | WOMEN'S SOCCER

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DePaul suffers first loss of BIG EAST play

CHICAGO – After taking a 2-1 lead three minutes into the second half, DePaul women's soccer conceded two goals in the 74th and 79th minutes, falling 3-2 to the Butler Bulldogs at Wish Field.

The result marked the Blue Demons' first loss in conference play and pushed the team to a 3-3-5 record.

How It Happened
The Blue Demons and Bulldogs got off to a fast start, but DePaul claimed the early advantage in just the ninth minute.

Freshman forward Katelyn Haiser kicked off the sequence, sending a leading pass to Shayna da Silva, who rocketed the first shot on goal. Butler goalkeeper Addison Ash denied the first shot, but da Silva was quick, netting her own rebound to give DePaul a 1-0 lead.

The Blue Demons held onto their one-goal lead until the 22nd minute, when Butler scored off a dangerous throw-in deep in Butler's attacking third.

The rest of the half remained scoreless, and the teams entered the break firmly tied at 1-1. Butler held a slight 7-4 edge in shots, but the Blue Demons edged out their opponent with a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Early in the second half, the Blue Demons again struck fast, generating a corner kick in the opening two minutes after the break. The corner, sent in by da Silva, found Jericho Frigon in front of goal. The fifth-year senior headed in a high-bouncing ball into the back of the net for the go-ahead 2-1 score in the 48th minute.

Though DePaul managed three more on-target shots in the second half, Butler's Gemma Gillespie broke through on two set pieces to give the Bulldogs the equalizer and game-winner.

"We always talk about set pieces changing games, and today it went in Butler's favor," said head coach Michele O'Brien. "We needed to be more disciplined and assertive in defending those set pieces, and we just weren't today."

First, Gillespie served up the second leveler of the match in the 74th minute, finding purchase in the box on a Bulldog corner kick to knot the score at two apiece.

Gillespie found what would become the game-sealing score five minutes later, netting the ball off a free kick sequence to give Butler the 3-2 lead.

The Blue Demons were unable to equalize in the final 11 minutes of the match, falling 3-2.

"Today was a very disappointing result," said O'Brien. "We had the lead two times, and that should have been enough to close out the game. We had a good start to both halves, and throughout the game we showed glimpses of how dangerous we can be. We will build on the positives to be ready for Marquette next weekend."

Match Notes

Frigon scored the first goal of her DePaul career and earned her third point this season with the score in the 48th minute.
da Silva scored in the ninth minute, the earliest goal for the Blue Demons since the season opener against NIU on Aug. 16, 2026, when Dory Latenser scored in the seventh minute.
The Blue Demons scored two goals for the first time since Aug. 20, 2026, when DePaul defeated Denver 2-1.

Up Next
The Blue Demons look to rebound and find their first win of conference play against Marquette on Saturday, Oct. 10. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT, with coverage accessible on ESPN+.

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