HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Elise Kotsakis scored a pair of goals in the final two minutes of the game to lift the Butler University women's soccer team to a 2-1 overtime victory against Northern Kentucky University at the NKU Soccer Stadium on Wednesday night.

Kotsakis' first goal came with three seconds remaining in regulation.  Kelly Mahoney sent the ball forward to Sophia Maccagnone, who found a hole in the defense and passed the ball to Kotsakis.  Kotsakis then took a shot attempt from six-yards out and placed it into the lower right corner by NKU goalkeeper Brooke Schocker to tie the game at 1-all and force overtime.

Serina Kashimoto sparked the golden goal opportunity.  She got the ball to Kotsakis, who was just outside the penalty box.  Kotsakis beat her defender, and her shot bounced off the left post and into the back of the net for the Bulldog win.

NKU opened the game with a strong first half and took a 1-0 lead into the locker room, courtesy of Sami Rutowski's third goal of the season.  In the 25th minute, Jaclyn Elmore sent a corner kick into the penalty box and gained control of the ball after the defense deflected it.  She passed the ball to Kelsey Laumann, who quickly got the ball to Rutowski in front of the net.  Rutowski flicked a header shot towards the Butler goal and found an opening past Bulldog goalkeeper Jayne Heinrich for the Norse advantage.

"I thought that our players executed our game plan tonight," NKU head coach Bob Sheehan said.  "We defended well, and we created some really excellent chances.  We are obviously disappointed in the outcome, though.  Last year, we played Butler and they were at an entirely different level, so this was a gage to see what strides we've made in a year.  We wanted to win, and our players are pretty disappointed.  We've got to find a way to win these kind of games."

Butler applied consistent pressure to the NKU defense in the second half, ending with a 13-8 advantage in shot attempts after recording just one in the opening stanza.  The Norse offense made good use of their opportunities in the second half but could not find the extra goal.

Aubrey Muench got ahead of the defense in the 51st minute and sent a shot towards the goal, but Heinrich made the stop.  Macy Hamblin broke away from the Bulldogs in the 89th minute but was unable to get a shot off as Kashimoto raced back to support her goalkeeper, who was beaten on a fake from Hamblin.

Butler, which improved to 5-4 on the year, took 11 corner kicks to NKU's four, including six opportunities in the second half.  Despite the advantage, the NKU defense successfully defended the Bulldog chances.

Heinrich made five saves on the night for Butler, while Schocker added four to her season total for NKU, which fell to 3-2-2.

With the win, the Bulldogs now lead the series with the Norse, 2-0.  Last season, Butler defeated the Norse, 2-0, in Indianapolis.

NKU begins a three-game road trip on Sunday as the Norse travel to Murray, Kentucky, to face Murray State.  NKU holds a 1-0-1 record in the all-time series against the Racers, with the two teams playing to a scoreless tie last season.  The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. Eastern start time.  Links to live stats and video will be available at NKUNorse.com.