Butler signs with Chicago State

Butler signs with Chicago State
Ashya Butler. (Photo courtesy of bfa.com)

Sophomore forward Ashya Butler will face stiffer competition in the fall when she suits up for the Chicago State University Lady Cougars soccer team in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Butler will play the final two seasons of her collegiate eligibility at Chicago State University, after playing her first two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma College (NEO) where she led the team in goals.

Butler started 13 times in 16 games for Northeastern, and tallied 13 goals, three of which were game winners. She also assisted on two goals.

Northeastern is a two-year state residential college located in Miami, Oklahoma.

The veteran forward garnered a lot of attention from larger schools during the women’s Division I Region 2 Tournament. She led the Lady Norse to a pair of early wins over Eastern State College. Both Butler and Bailee Russell scored hat tricks for NEO in the wins.

Butler will be a welcome addition to a Cougars team that lacked a consistent scorer last season. They ranked at the bottom of the league in almost every statistical category and finished just 1-19 overall.

The Cougars are members of the Western Athletic Conference, joining that conference on July 1, 2013. The team is expected to announce its spring schedule in the coming days.

Butler also recently played for the Dynamos Football Club in the Bahamas Football Association’s (BFA) development league.

About Randy Smith

Randy Smith is the producer of the widely-watched local television show “Beyond The Headlines” and the web content manager of Eyewitness News. He joined Eyewitness News as a sportscaster in 2018, a role he still performs, and has previously covered a slew of international sporting events, including the 2015 Pan American Games, the Nike EYBL Showcase, several IAAF World Relays, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Bahamas Bowl and multiple CARIFTA Swimming and Track & Field Championships. Randy has been recognized by the Bahamas Press Club with awards for “Best Sports Broadcast” as a sportscaster and “Best TV Talk Show” as a producer.