The Hoosiers raced to a two-goal lead within 15 minutes of the first half, but Bulldog senior Vincent Mitchell scored twice in the second half to force two overtime periods.
Both teams were unable to score during overtime, and the Hoosiers had to settle for a draw after racing to a two-goal lead in the first half.
“Butler’s a good team and they’re coming in undefeated at home,” IU redshirt junior Derek Creviston said. “They had the home crowd and they came out the second half and put in the work and we got rattled a little bit and they ended up getting two on us and we can’t let that happen on our side.”
The result, however, might have been different as IU senior Femi Hollinger-Janzen had a potential goal that was contentiously ruled out in the 67th minute when the Hoosiers were still up 2-1.
IU started with a different look up top as Hollinger-Janzen spearheaded the attack in place of graduate transfer Ben Maurey while redshirt senior Kyle Sparks started ahead of redshirt junior Phil Fives and freshman Rece Buckmaster had his first start on the right side of the trio playing behind Hollinger-Janzen.
Buckmaster would then double IU’s lead just three minutes after the penalty as he arrived late in the box to apply the finishing touch to a piece of play by the Hoosiers.
“Rece Buckmaster I thought was phenomenal tonight,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said. “Scored a great goal. He was a big part of our success that first half and we are starting to see how good this young man can be.”
It was all IU for the next few minutes but Butler managed to find its way back into the game and fired a few shots of its own.
The Hoosier defense to their credit managed to keep their lead and went into halftime 2-0.
Butler came out of the break the brighter of the two and junior Colin Webb had to be alert, as he pulled off a double save in the 51st minute.
However, the Bulldogs would finally get the better of Webb as Mitchell halved the deficit nine minutes later.
IU then had an opportunity to restore its two-goal advantage in the 67th minute, but the officials contentiously ruled out the potential goal.
“It looked to me like it was,” Yeagley said. “I’m assuming the AR on that side had a good view of it and I can’t speak for that.”
That decision would alter the course of the game as Mitchell popped up to score his and Butler’s second goal of the night.
It was a similar display of athleticism by the Jamaican as he sprinted onto a pass from senior Jeff Adkins before putting it beyond the reach of Webb.
“We played against a bunch of pacey players and he’s one of the best,” Creviston said. “It’s good to play against some and it’s good for us and will be good for the season.”
Both teams then went in search of their third goals, but were unable to do it and the game was brought into overtime.
The Hoosiers registered a total of six attempts throughout two overtimes but were unable to put the ball into the back of the net.
Mitchell had a chance to complete his hat-trick and become the hero in the second period of overtime, but he fluffed his lines after being put clean through by Butler junior David Goldsmith.
IU plays Rutgers University on Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium after being on the road its last two games.
