The Butler Men’s soccer team wrapped up the weekend tying two teams and placing second in the four-team, Akron Tournament in Akron, Ohio

Butler’s first contest matched them up against #11 South Florida (4-1-1). The Bulldogs kept the game to a stalemate through the first 30 minutes of the contest, before South Florida’s, Roberto Alterio scored at the 32^nd minute mark to break the draw. Ricardo Webb then made it two goals to none for the Bulls at the 37^th minute with an unassisted goal coming from a Butler turnover.

The Bulldogs then struck back with two goals in four minutes late in the second half.  Sophomore forward Chad Rigg added the first Butler goal at the 78^th minute to cut the South Florida lead in half.

Freshman forward Jeff Adkinsthen tied the match at the 82^nd minute with a shot from 15 yards out.

Game two of the tournament pitted Butler against St. John’s, another nationally-ranked squad, and for the second consecutive match the Bulldogs settled for a draw.

The Bulldogs opened up with a goal early at the 28^th minute and out-shot the unbeaten Red Storm (5-0-3), eight to five, in the opening period.

St. John’s then showed their national ranking in the second half, launching 18 shots in the second half and two overtime periods along with six shots on goal in the final 65 minutes.

The Red Storm tied the match at the 74^th minute when midfielder Daniel Herrera broke loose in the middle of the field and took a shot from 26 yards out.

On the plus side for Butler, three Bulldogs were named to the 11-player Akron All-Tournament squad. Junior Jordan Burtand sophomores Brandon Frickeand Zach Steinbergerof Butler were named to the team.  The trio helped Butler to ties against #11 South Florida and #10 St. John’s.

Akron went on to win the tournament, which feature three of the top eleven teams in the nation. Butler and St. John’s both finished with a 0-0-2 mark, but the Bulldogs earned the second place decision based on goal differential.

Butler has not been beaten in its last 20 regular season tournament contests.

The two ties against nationally-ranked teams kept the Bulldogs unbeaten in regular season tournament play this season.

The Butler men’s soccer team remained in control of its Horizon League tournament fate with a 3-1 victory over Detroit on Saturday.

Three different players scored for the Bulldogs (7-7-2, 2-3-1), and they kept the Titans (5-10-1, 1-5-1) off the scoreboard until the 86th minute in what proved to be a crucial conference win.

With the victory, Butler remains tied for sixth place in the conference standings with Illinois-Chicago.
Butler struck early against Detroit when sophomore forward Austin Oldham scored on a free kick in the 13th minute.

It would not take long for the Bulldogs to add an insurance goal.

Freshman forward Chad Rigg received the pass from Oldham on the left side and fired it past Titan sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Shepherd.

It was Rigg’s first collegiate goal and gave Butler a 2-0 lead just less than 20 minutes into the game.

In the 43rd minute, Butler redshirt freshman defenseman Brandon Fricke received a red card, meaning he had to sit out the rest of the match, and the Bulldogs were forced to play with only 10 men in the second half.

“It was unfortunate because [Fricke] has been playing really well lately,” coach Paul Snape said.

Freshman midfielder Zach Steinberger added a goal in the 78th minute to all but seal the game.

Oldham and Rigg led Butler with three shots each, while sophomore  goalkeeper Jon Dawson recorded six saves in net for the Bulldogs.

“We are confident in anyone who plays defender or goalkeeper,” Dawson said. “I was seeing the ball well, and our defenders were giving me windows so I could see.”

The win came three days after Butler fell to Cleveland State 2-1 at the Butler Bowl.

The Vikings (8-8-1, 4-2-1) scored two goals in a 12-minute span and shut Butler’s offense down to pick up the win.

Butler will take on Valparaiso on Wednesday and Wright State on Saturday. The latter match is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Butler Bowl.

Butler will need to maintain a top-six standing in the conference in order to play in the Horizon League tournament.

“Everything that we have prepared for has got us in this position right now,” Snape said.  “If everything comes together, I totally believe we can win both games.”

The Cleveland State Vikings (9-5-3, 5-0-1) and the Wright State Raiders (8-6-2, 4-2-1) are currently first and second in the Horizon League, respectively.