INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Drake women's soccer team earned a 1-1 result against Butler on Sunday afternoon as Isabella Balsley played hero with a 90th minute goal.
 
The Drake defense was under siege from the opening whistle due to an aggressive attack from Butler. Over the course of the first 45 minutes of action, Butler tallied 15 shots and had seven attempts come on target.
 
Starting goalkeeper Kate Hopma was kept busy and fended off the attempts from Butler for the most part, but the home side Bulldogs did get one by the sophomore in the 24th minute. Norah Jacomen scored the goal for Butler and was assisted by Talia Sommer.
 
With the Drake backline dealing with the Butler attack, that left little chances for Drake's offense to create scoring opportunities. Drake registered just two shots in the first half with only one attempt coming on net taken by Layla Kelbel in the 30th minute.
 
In the second half, Drake fared better in the possession battle and made the adjustments to slow down the Butler offense. The Drake defense held Butler to just three shots in the second half with only one attempt on net.
 
However, Drake still needed to find an equalizer to earn a result. The road Bulldogs upped their attack in the final 45 and put pressure on the Butler defense sending multiple players, cross attempts, and shots into the box but Drake was still scoreless as the clock neared closer to zeroes.
 
In a last-ditch effort, as just over 40 seconds remained in the match, Drake made for one final push. Coming off a throw-in, Paige Millstone took the ball into the near side corner of the pitch and sent a cross into the Butler box. Kelbel positioned herself to receive the pass and headed the ball over to Angela Gutierrez who proceeded to find Balsley unmarked from close range. The sophomore from Johnston, Iowa, slammed her shot into the goal giving Drake its equalizer with just 30 ticks remaining.
 
The remaining seconds wound down after the restart from Balsley's goal and the match concluded with the score even at 1-1.
 
"Today was two completely different halves in that we were out of possession for much of the first half, but very organized and kept Butler to contested shots, except for the goal, and their early moment off the crossbar," Drake head coach Lindsey Horner said. "We created a few promising counterattacking moments in the first half, but they didn't result in shots.
 
"In the second half we did a fantastic job of trapping Butler higher up on the field or when they went long, we did a great job of playing through their press and opening up the game. For large parts of the second half, we had them pinned back and fortunately our players kept attacking and putting Butler under pressure. This performance provides us great momentum as we prepare for MVC play on Saturday."
 
Balsley's goal marked her second of the season, while Kelbel and Gutierrez each were credited with assists. Madelyn Smith paced Drake with three shots in the match and Eve Blakey added two shots of her own. Hopma tallied six saves in the match and Addie Ford took over in net for the second half and made one save.
 
Drake will return home for its next match as the schedule shifts over to conference play. Drake will host Valparaiso from Mediacom Stadium on Saturday, Sep. 20 with kickoff set for 5 p.m. CT.