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 hosted St. Louis in an exhibition match Sunday and came away with a 4-2 victory.

The Bulldogs took an early lead with first-half goals from freshman Zach Steinberger and sophomore newcomer Nico Oliverio.

“We are usually a team that likes coming from behind, so to get that early lead was crucial,” Steinberger said.

Steinberger added another goal in the second half to push Butler to a 3-0 lead.

The Billikens then tallied two quick goals to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one.

Oliverio came through again after the St. Louis goals, scoring his second goal of the game and giving Butler a 4-2 lead.

The Bulldogs will continue their spring season with another exhibition match Friday.

This time, Butler will face Michigan State in Fort Wayne.

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 has proven it can fight back with the best of them this season.

After falling behind 1-0 on Saturday, the Bulldogs (5-4-1, 1-1-0) roared back in the second half to defeat Loyola 3-1 and gain their first conference victory of the season.

From a shooting standpoint, the first half was evenly played, with the Ramblers (1-7-1, 0-2-0) holding a 4-3 advantage in shots. None of Butler’s shots were on goal, however, while Loyola was able to find the back of the net with one of its shots.

Sophomore forward James Howe scored in the 23^rd minute for the Ramblers’ first and only goal of the match. The 1-0 lead would hold up until halftime.

“We weren’t that sharp in the first half,” head coach Paul Snape said. “I just tried to calm them down and say ‘Look, this is a difficult situation we are in, but let’s just relax and take control of the game.’”

The tide of the match completely turned when both teams exited the locker room.

The Bulldogs came out in the second half and played inspired soccer, outshooting the Ramblers 12-6 in the half and tallying three goals.

Sophomore forward Adekunle Oluyedun got things started with an unassisted goal in the 52^nd minute on a strike from the left side of the box.

Junior forward Blake Leyden would get in on the action 12 minutes later when he scored an unassisted goal off of a corner kick.

“Ade made a run toward the near post, and I just fired it toward him as hard as I could,” Leyden said. “He faked at the ball and just let it go in, and they gave me the goal.”

Freshman midfielder Zach Steinberger would add an insurance goal just over two minutes later, and the Bulldogs were well on their way to claiming their first Horizon League win of the year.

The good feelings would not last long for Butler. The Bulldogs took a short road trip Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis yesterday and failed to score against the Jaguars (2-7-2), dropping a 3-0 decision.

IUPUI sophomore forward Ian Block tallied two goals in a five-minute stretch for the Jaguars midway through the first half. Senior forward Perez Agaba scored IUPUI’s third goal in the 81^st minute.

Butler outshot IUPUI 18-12 but could not put a shot past Jaguars’ senior goalkeeper Tyler Keever. Butler freshman goalkeeper Andy Holte allowed IUPUI’s first two strikes and suffered the loss.

The Bulldogs will look to get back on track when they continue conference play against Illinois Chicago. The match will take place in the Butler Bowl at 7:00 pm on Saturday.