GRAYSON PRATHER | STAFF REPORTER
It was a breezy September night at The Butler Bowl on Sept. 25th, 2013.
Over 5,000 fans filled the Bowl’s seats to the brim.
Fans were cheering, and lights brightened the field. It was the game players on both Butler and Indiana Universitys’ men’s soccer teams were looking forward to.
David Goldsmith was unaware of the magnitude of the moment.
“Before the game, I knew it was a big game,” Goldsmith said. “People were talking about it but I didn’t really understand how big it was. I definitely wasn’t expecting that big of a crowd.”
Senior defender Brandon Fricke remembered the raucous atmosphere.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Fricke said. “We had probably the best fan base at the Bowl we’ve ever had.”
The crowd got its money’s worth.
After a scoreless first half, the Hoosiers scored first in the 52nd minute of the game with a goal from Jonzen Hollinger.
Indiana’s Tommy Thompson scored the second goal of the game in 61st minute, putting the Hoosiers comfortably ahead with a 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs were not done yet.
Jordan Burt scored the Bulldogs’ first goal in the 6th minute. Just over a minute later, Goldsmith scored the tying goal, sending the game into overtime and the crowd into a frenzy.
“I thought the game was over,” Goldsmith said. “I thought it ended in a tie because that’s what we do back in England.”
Goldsmith struck again in double-overtime. Butler had won. Jubilation ensued.
Zach Steinberger was one of the first to reach Goldsmith after his game-winning goal. The senior captain was confident in his team. He knew the rest of the Bulldogs had the same mindset.
“We had belief. We always had belief,” Steinberger said. “And it’s college soccer; that game shows that anything can happen.”
Head coach Paul Snape is impressed to this day with his team’s performance on that night.
“They were a very good team,” Snape said. “We played well, we really hustled and we matched their fight and intensity.”
Fricke called the game “one of my favorite college experiences I’ve had at Butler.”
Tonight, Fricke will have an opportunity to make another lasting memory.
The Bulldogs will face Indiana tonight in Bloomington.
Snape said his team will have to come out ready to play.
“We’ll make sure that we have intensity,” Snape said. “We’ve got to play like we’re playing IU every single game.”
Fricke said he is familiar with the atmosphere in Bill Armstrong Stadium.
“We’re just trying to raise our level of intensity,” Fricke said. “We know the atmosphere down there is going to be buzzing. They’re going to have a good fan base, they always do. They’re a very energetic team so we have to just be mentally ready for the environment that we’re going into.”
Butler returns to the Butler Bowl on Sept. 20 to host Loyola University.
The Bulldogs’ all-time record against Loyola is 15-7-2.
The Bulldogs won the last meeting between the schools, 3-1 in 2011.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.
