Taking the next step in its rebuilding process may be a little more difficult than anticipated for the young BG women’s soccer team.

On Friday evening, the Falcons were defeated 5-0 on the road by the Butler Bulldogs in Indianapolis in their last non-conference game this year.

Head coach Lindsay Basalyga credited the loss partly to her team’s youth and inexperience.

“We are very young, having eight or nine freshmen and sophomores on the field at a time, and we are seeing the effects of this youth as it pertains to the mental side of the game,” she said. “But every game gives us something to learn from and back pocket for the future.”

Although the game went scoreless into half time, the Bulldogs outshot the Falcons 17-0 in the first 45 minutes. Goalkeeper Lauren Cadel’s nine saves in the first half helped the Falcons stay in the game.

The second half started off with a shot by Falcon junior Haley Parkinson in the 46th minute, which was saved by Bulldogs goalkeeper Jayne Heinrich.

In the 50th minute however, Butler player Hannah Farley was able to score the 1-0 for the Bulldogs on a breakaway. Two minutes later the Bulldogs scored their second goal as Butler’s Serina Kashimoto’s shot from the right side of the box went past Lauren Cadel.

Only 18 seconds later, Bulldogs player Elise Kotsakis made it 3-0 for Butler marking her seventh goal of the season.

“The first goal came from poor possession which resulted in a breakaway and unfortunately we didn’t respond well in the following minutes,” Basalyga said.

After going scoreless for 10 more minutes, BG conceded two more goals in the 64th and 65th minute, both scored by Butler’s Kathryn Voelker.

Over the 90 minutes of soccer, the Bulldogs not only outshot the Falcons 27-3 but also shutout the Falcons on corner kicks 4-0.

Butler is now on a five-game winning streak and improved its record to 6-4-0, while BG dropped to 1-6-0.

The Falcons were outscored 8-0 by opponents over the last two games and will start their Mid-American Conference play next week at Ball State, which has only lost one game so far this season.

“We’ve seen everything we can see over the last nine games to prepare us for the MAC mentally, physically and tactically, and I’m confident that this group will continue to press forward and embrace our process,” Basalyga said.

BG will travel to Muncie, Indiana, to take on Ball State on Friday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m.