The Butler men’s soccer team looks to shake off a nail biting conference road match against nationally ranked Xavier.

The two teams played to a scoreless tie through the first half of the match.  Xavier midfielder Andrew Jordan’s short shot to the right corner of the net at 42 minute ended the gridlock between both teams.  The goal was Jordan’s third of the season and gave the unbeaten and nationally-ranked Musketeers (9-0-2, 2-0 in A-10 play) a 1-0 advantage going into the locker room at halftime.

The two teams continued to battle through the first 30 minutes of the second half, before Butler’s Jordan Burt tied the match off an unassisted goal from 18 yards out in the 76minute of the game.

“I think the match really just came down to how you defend in your box and how you attack,” said head coach Paul Snape, “They were a bit better than us today,”

The game-winner by Xavier’s James Queree came in the 82 minute of the game; just five minutes after Butler had tied the match on a goal by junior Jordan Burt. Queree’s goal was fired from eight yards out on the left side of the goal.

“Our team is playing hard and moving the ball well, we just haven’t been able to really click on offense and then we end up making one or two costly mistakes in the back,” said senior co-captain Jared Isenthal, “We really felt we were the better team going into the game.”

Xavier finished with a slight 12-11 advantage in shots and a six-four edge in corner kicks.  Butler goalkeeper Jon Dawson, coming off a career-high nine saves at Dayton, finished with five saves, including one up close in the closing minutes of the match.

“I thought we played really well, we just lost focus. Not once but twice. We did do well coming back from a goal down but sometimes a losing score isn’t what you want to see,” said Butler goalkeeper Jon Dawson, “We really have to get it going for next week.”

The Bulldogs will open up their first home Atlantic 10 match on Friday, Oct. 12, against Richmond at the Butler Bowl.

The Butler Men’s soccer team will begin a stretch of three consecutive matches in Ohio with a non-conference game at Ohio State tonight.

Since 1998, the Bulldogs and Buckeyes have played eight games with the Buckeyes leading the series with six wins and two losses against Butler. The two teams last met at Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus, Ohio in a match on September 20, 2009.

The Bulldogs lost that game 2-1, breaking a four game win streak. But now three years later, the Bulldogs will travel once again to Columbus and head coach Paul Snape said feels good going in.

“Ohio State men’s soccer has a strong tradition of winning and they are better than their current record shows,” Snape said. “I expect it to be a physical game and a tactical battle. The boys are very excited to be playing at the famous Jesse Owens Stadium.”

After a loss and two ties, the Bulldogs finally grabbed a victory, rolling over Evansville 3-0. The win gave junior goalkeeper Jon Dawson his third shutout of the season and his second at home. Dawson said he is ready for the next step of this journey for the Bulldogs.

“We have really been clicking as a team and going to Columbus will be exactly what we need to continue our form this season,” Dawson said. “It’ll be a great game in a great environment.”

The younger players on this Bulldogs squad have seemed to step up under the leadership provided so far.

Freshman forward Jeff Atkins currently leads the Bulldogs with 6 points as the freshman has racked up two goals and two assists in the seven games he has played. Senior captain Jared Isenthal said he believes that this progress is moving the team in the right direction.

“After a great win last week, I believe this team is really coming together,” Isenthal said. “A strong week of preparation and practice has given us a good outlook forward as we go into playing a tough Big Ten opponent.”

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.

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.

The Butler men’s soccer team broke a four-game losing streak with a non-conference victory over Evansville Saturday at Arad McCutchan Stadium.

The 1-0 victory over the Purple Aces (5-7-1) also broke a scoreless streak for the Bulldogs (6-6-2, 1-2-1) that lasted for more than 400 minutes.

Photo by Maria Porter

Sophomore forward Austin Oldham fired the ball past Evansville freshman goalkeeper Eric Teppen in the 36th minute.

The goal was Oldham’s team-leading sixth and his second game-winning goal of the season.

Photo by Maria Porter

Junior defenseman Jordan Burt picked up the assist on the play after feeding Oldham the ball across the pitch.

“It was a total team effort,” coach Paul Snape said of the scoring play.

The start of the match was consistent with the past three weeks for the Bulldogs, with the Purple Aces out-shooting them 8-4.

The turning point of the match was Oldham’s goal, which seemed to ignite Butler on both sides of the ball.

“We had four or five opportunities to put more in the back of the net,” Snape said.

In the second half, the Bulldogs out-shot the Purple Aces 8-2 and held them to a single shot on goal.

Overall, the Bulldogs out-shot Evansville 13-11 and held an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal.

Burt led a strong offensive attack for the Bulldogs with three shots on goal. Oldham added two shots on goal.

Justin Sass, a junior defenseman who transferred  from Evansville to Butler prior to the start of the season, turned in a strong performance against his old team with two shots on goal.

Butler sophomore goalkeeper Jon Dawson quietly turned in a solid effort, recording six saves en route to the third shutout of his career.

The Bulldogs will take on Horizon League opponent Cleveland State tonight at the Butler Bowl at 7 p.m.

The match will be the biggest of Butler’s season thus far, with the Bulldogs looking to get in the conference tournament picture.

Six teams qualify for the Horizon League Tournament at the end of the regular season. Butler is currently in seventh place, holding a similar record as Illinois-Chicago in league play.

The Vikings (6-8-1, 3-2-1) currently hold third place in the league.

Photo by Maria Porter

The first night game of the season for the Butler men’s soccer team came with another first for the season: a shutout.

There was no winner or loser in this shutout, however, as the Bulldogs (5-4-2, 1-1-1) continued their scoring struggles in a 0-0 double overtime tie against Illinois-Chicago at the Butler Bowl on Saturday.

The Flames (6-2-3, 1-0-1) recorded their second shutout of the season while Butler’s defense had arguably its best match of the season, notching the Bulldogs their first shutout of the campaign.

Constant pressure from Butler led to numerous scoring opportunities, which were often followed by counterattacks from UIC.

“To UIC’s credit, I thought they were a much better defensive team than they were an offensive team,” junior Blake Leyden said. “When we were able to get behind defenders and put the ball into the box, we were pretty successful in getting chances.”

The two squads played an even match statistically. The first half saw both teams record eight shots, three shots on net and two corner kicks.

All three of Butler sophomore goalkeeper Jon Dawson’s saves came in the first half.

Momentum shifted to the Bulldogs in the second half as they produced five more shots than the Flames (7-2). This did not break the scoreless tie though, and the match went to overtime.

Neither team scored in two 10-minute overtime periods, and the match ended in a 0-0 tie.

Butler was the controlling team in overtime, recording the only two shots on net as well as the only two corner kicks. In the end, there was never a breakthrough for either side.

Sophomore forward Austin Oldham led Butler with five shots while Leyden and fellow junior forward Tyler Pollock each tallied three shots.

UIC senior forward Eric Frazier paced the Flames’ offense with five shots, and freshman forward Jesus Torres recorded three shots.

Dawson came away with his first tie of the season and his second career shutout for the Bulldogs. UIC redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Piotr Kikolski, who has earned a decision in all of the Flames’ matches this season, grabbed his third tie of the season.

“We’ve really started to click,” Dawson said.  “I think the IUPUI game was an awakening where we realized that we need to play every game.”

The Bulldogs will look to break their scoring drought against Indiana tonight at the Butler Bowl. The match is scheduled to start at 7 pm.

Photo by Maria Porter

A dreary skyline provided a fitting backdrop to what turned out to be a lackluster afternoon for the Butler men’s soccer team on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (4-3-1, 0-1-0) fell 3-1 to Horizon League foe Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the conference opener for both teams at the Butler Bowl.

The defeat snapped Butler’s 10-match Horizon League regular season winning streak.

The  Panthers (4-4-0, 1-0-0) wasted little time seizing momentum. Sophomore defenseman James Aschcroft buried a pass into the back of the net off a corner kick in the match’s fourth minute, handing Milwaukee an early 1-0 advantage.

The Bulldogs have given up the first goal in six out of their eight matches this year. It is a stark contrast to last season’s squad, which allowed only three goals in its first eight games.

Freshman midfielder Zach Steinberger got Butler on the board in the 38th minute when he scored his first collegiate goal on a pass from sophomore forward Adekunle Oluyedun.

“Toward the end of the first half we really showed that we could come together and figure out some stuff on the field,” junior defenseman Jared Isenthal said.

The 1-1 tie at halftime would be the last bright spot of the match for the Bulldogs.  The Panthers opened up the second half like the first, scoring just three minutes in.

Senior midfielder Robert Refai was able to put the ball past Butler sophomore goalkeeper Jon Dawson on a play that caught the Bulldogs off guard,  allowing the Panthers to grab a 2-1 lead.

Milwaukee sealed its victory in the 71st minute when freshman forward Nick Langford deposited a header into the net.

“For them to score that third goal after we were pressing was just frusturating,” Dawson said.

The game saw its fair share of physical play. The Panthers committed 17 fouls, including four yellow cards and one red card, while Butler committed eight fouls.

Steinberger led the Bulldogs with two shots on goal, and Dawson recorded a career-high five saves in the loss.

On Sept. 21, the Bulldogs took down Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne 3-1 to pick up their fourth win of the campaign.

Oluyedun, junior defenseman Justin Sass and sophomore midfielder Adam Glanzer all contributed goals for Butler. The Mastadons (3-6-1) received a goal from senior midfielder Colin Helmrich.

Butler’s next match will pit the Bulldogs against Loyola on Saturday.