The magic of Butler University exists on and off the court, and that is why this school is special.

I did not find out about Butler, nor did I apply here, because of basketball fame.  The university sent me a letter, and my mother pushed me to look into the school.

I fell in love with Butler not because of what I saw at Hinkle Fieldhouse but because of what I saw in the campus as a whole.

If the Butler men’s basketball team does not find a way into the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, everything will be OK.

There is much to look forward to next season, and there is, after all, more to this school than what happens at Hinkle.

After wins against Youngstown State, Cleveland State, Loyola of Chicago and Indiana State, the Bulldogs seem to have their February mojo working in full force.

But is it too late?  I believe so.

The team has struggled with consistency for much of the season, losing games to Evansville, Valparaiso and Ball State, as well as a pair against Detroit.

After last night’s victory over Illinois-Chicago, a victory against Valparaiso on Friday would give the team a 19-12 record in the regular season.

Hopefully that can propel the team to one of the top two seeds in the Horizon League tournament.

The Bulldogs will then need to win the conference tournament to have a hope of returning to March Madness. I do not see that happening.

Despite what happens with the remainder of this season, the program has a bright future.

Coach Brad Stevens has one of the nation’s best 3-point shooters in senior transfer Rotnei Clarke, who will play his final year of eligibility for the Bulldogs next season.

Stevens also has a solid recruiting class, staring 6-foot-5 shooting guard Kellen Dunham, coming to campus next season.

I expect that these two will provide effective outside shooting—something that the team has been lacking this season.

More than anything that will be seen in Hinkle over the next few years, I find comfort in the fact that even without the two deep runs in the tournament, Butler would still be the fantastic school it is today.

Butler students are blessed to attend such an amazing school.  While the school has garnered fame from basketball, but without a good background, it would not mean much.

The two-part scenario was simple for the Butler men’s soccer team entering last Wednesday: Win or tie the final two matches of the regular season or go home.

The second match resulted in a 1-0 loss for the Bulldogs (7-8-3, 2-4-2) to the league’s second place team, Wright State, on Saturday afternoon at the Butler Bowl, capping a disappointing conference season.

“We went out there and had to play positive,” coach Paul Snape said. “We had to make sure that we didn’t overcommit ourselves, and we went out and created a lot of good chances.”

Photo by Maria Porter

Butler had put itself in position to move on to the Horizon League Tournament with a win or tie against the Raiders (10-6-2, 5-2-1) after tying 1-1 with league-leading Valparaiso on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs had several scoring opportunities early on, including freshman forward Chad Rigg striking the crossbar with a shot in the opening minute of the match.

However, the first major  momentum shift came in Wright State’s favor when sophomore midfielder Will McAteer successfully converted a corner kick in the 24th minute for the match’s first and only goal.

“[Snape] articulated some good tactical aspects at halftime that put us in position to score,” junior defenseman Jared Isenthal said. “Our execution kind of failed us.”

The Raiders were able to keep the Bulldogs from scoring the rest of the match despite Butler finishing with a 17-8 advantage in shots and a 9-4 advantage in shots-on-goal.

In the final 15 minutes, Butler struck the crossbar twice but could not find the back of the net as time eventually expired in the match and on Butler’s season.

Sophomore forward Austin Oldham led the Bulldogs’ attack with four shots, and junior goalkeeper John Dawson contributed three saves in the loss.

The match was the last in the collegiate careers of Butler’s five seniors: defenseman JC Aikenhead, midfielder Lucas Eichhorn, midfielder Dustin Mares, midfielder Randy Richter and student manager Jack Morlock.

“It was a unique senior class,” Isenthal said. “Each one brought different aspects to the team that a team needs.

“Most of all [we are going to miss] their experience.  That kind of set the tone for what it means to play soccer at Butler.”

The five seniors were part of the winningest stretch in Butler history, compiling a 50-15-12 record while playing in a blue and white uniform.

Photo by Reid Bruner

They also played in two NCAA tournaments and won two Horizon League regular season titles during their careers.

Next season’s squad expects to return 10 of the 11 players who started against Wright State, including Isenthal, Oldham and Dawson.

In a game that was critical to conference standing, the Butler women’s soccer team got a crucial 2-0 win against Horizon League foe Wisconsin-Green Bay on Sunday.

With the win, the Bulldogs (8-8-1, 3-4-0) clinched, at worst, a sixth-place finish in the Horizon League, which guarantees them a spot in the league tournament.

“We’re good enough to be in the tournament,” freshman forward Stephanie Kaylor said.  “We shouldn’t have ended our season without being in it, and we‘re relieved to have clinched a spot.”

As they have done often this season, the Bulldogs came out as the aggressors against the Phoenix (3-10-4, 1-4-2). The team’s offensive pressure would be rewarded in the match’s 19th minute.

The goal-scoring play started when Kaylor fired the ball into the box.

Photo by Maria Porter

Phoenix senior goalkeeper Maddie Drusch attempted to break up the play, but the ball deflected off her hands and into the goal to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs and Phoenix played an evenly-matched contest for the rest of the half and took the 1-0 lead going into halftime.

The Bulldogs outshot Green Bay 7-6 in the first half and tallied five corner kicks.

“We played really well from the beginning,” junior forward Katie Griswold said.  “Our team really played as a unit.”

The second half would see no letdown from Butler, as the Bulldogs took only six minutes to notch their second goal of the match.

This time, Griswold drew a foul in the box and received a penalty kick.

“I got a pass from someone and beat a player, and a girl just took me out,” Griswold said.  “It’s really nerve-wracking when you go up there, but I never make eye contact with the goalkeeper. I just pick a corner and go for it.”

Griswold converted the opportunity, and the Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead with 38 minutes remaining.

Butler was able to hold off Green Bay for the remainder of the game and pick up its eighth victory of the season.

Freshman forward Elise Kotsakis led the Bulldogs with three shots, and sophomore goalkeeper Julie Burton had five saves for Butler.

The win got Butler back on track in conference play and broke a three-game losing streak. The third loss in the slide came on Wednesday against Valparaiso.

The Crusaders (8-6-3, 4-2-1) took the decision 1-0 on Wednesday to remain in third place in the Horizon League.

Butler was led by Griswold and junior Rachael Melendez, who each collected five shots.

Burton made four saves for the Bulldogs in the defeat.

The Bulldogs return to action one last time before the conference tournament when they host Loyola under the lights on Friday.

Loyola won their first Horizon League match on Sunday, with  a 1-0 victory over Youngstown State.

The Ramblers (5-10-3, 1-4-2) are battling Cleveland State for the sixth and final spot in the league tournament.