Butler’s Offense Keeps Win Streak Alive

Adjusting the volume on her iPod, Chrissy Butler watches inspirational Nike soccer commercials to the background of up-beat Latin rhythms while on the road with the unbeaten Columbia women’s soccer team. Enjoying a six-game winning streak, it’s clear in both her performance and statistics that Butler has come to play.

Butler opened the season against Miami University of Ohio with her first goal in her collegiate career and followed it up by scoring the game-winner in the 56th minute of play in a 2-1 win over Hofstra. Over the course of the season, the freshman forward has solidified her role as the player to watch when the Lions take the field.

Butler’s transition from her small hometown of Shaker Heights, Ohio, to the bustling city life of the Big Apple has been a roller coaster of apprehension and eventual acceptance.

“Changing from a small town to a big city, I was a little apprehensive,” Butler said. “But with the close-knit community and the overwhelming support of both the team and coaches, I have been assured that Columbia is the right place for me.”

As the daughter of a former wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills, it seemed destined that Butler’s future would be lined with athletic accomplishment. And she was not the only athlete in the house.

“My older brother is more into extreme sports like skateboarding,” Butler said. “So I think when I picked up a soccer ball, my dad was more than happy to go along with it.”
As a high school senior and captain of the girl’s soccer team, Butler received the prestigious Ohio Player of the Year award.

“It was extremely rewarding to receive such an acknowledgment,” she said. “Working so hard and having it be my last year, it was the cherry on top.”

Making the transition from high school to college, Butler found herself coming from the very top—leading her team to the state championship in 2004—to starting over in a new city with a new team. “It was a big change from high school to college,” she said. “It’s all a very scary transition—you don’t know how people are going to react to you, or how you are going to fit in, but I am ready to start a new chapter in my life.”
With the departure of last year’s leading Ivy League scorer, Shannon Munoz, many have welcomed Butler as her natural successor. But the freshman tries not to let the expectations dictate her performance.

“I don’t think about it too much,” Butler said. “She was an amazing player and a big asset to the team, but those are big shoes to fill. A day doesn’t go by where the team doesn’t mention her, and I don’t think you can just replace a player like that.”
The team’s motto is based on a foundation of trust and communication; Butler stressed the focus that the team places on teamwork.

“Coach [Kevin McCarthy] is always saying we have to stay connected, never letting a moment pass where we are not thinking of each other,” she said.
Butler said the team is hardworking and passionate, but said it was important that they performed together as a unit.

As the Lions prepare to take on Brown at home, Butler said she has every bit of confidence that the team’s winning streak will not be snapped at six.
“I think we are so ready for the game,” Butler said. “We have been working our butts off since mid-August. We have been to California, we have gotten up countless mornings at 6:30 and haven’t lost any of our last six games. We have the momentum, we have the talent, we are just waiting for the game.”