PEORIA, Ill. -- Butler forward Roberto Gallo scored the game's only goal in the 63rd minute, leading Butler (2-0-0) to a 1-0 victory at Bradley (1-1-0) Saturday night and ending the Braves' eight-game winning streak in the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic.
In what amounted to the tournament's consolation game, DePaul reserve Eric Hemosillo scored in the 67th minute, leading the Blue Demons (1-1-0) to a 1-0 victory versus Western Illinois (0-2-0).
Played in front of a crowd of 1125, Saturday's championship game was a back-and-forth affair all night with neither team owning a clear advantage. Butler, however, took advantage of the pace to net the winner on a counter attack. Mark Spiegel led the charge down the field, and after a give-and-go with Aaron Thompson, Spiegel found Gallo on the right wing. Gallo carried the ball deep into the box, then slipped a shot under a sliding Chris Dunsheath at 62:28.
Bradley, which finished with a slim 20-18 advantage in shots, put the pressure on the Bulldogs in the closing minutes but could not solve the Butler defense. In the 81st minute Friday's hero, sophomore forward Teddy Anderson, curled a free kick to the top right corner, but Butler keeper Frank Peabody was able to knock the shot away. In the 85th minute, sophomore reserve Nick Mentgen was able to work his way into position from the left wing, but his potential tying shot hit off the side netting.
Bradley has been a dominant host in the nine-year history of the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic and the Braves brought an eight-game tournament winning streak into Saturday's finale, dating back to a 4-3 loss to Valparaiso in the 2001 opener. The Braves are now 14-3-1 all-time in the tournament. Butler became the third visiting team to claim an outright tournament championship and the first since Davidson in 2001.
The Braves will participate in the Missouri State Classic next weekend, facing Centenary in Friday's opener and Oral Roberts in Saturday's first game, before returning to Shea Stadium to host IPFW, UC-Irvine and Missouri State Sept. 16-17 in the third annual Bradley Classic.
