Butler’s men’s soccer wins season opener in overtime

Midfielder Lewis Suddick protects the ball from an opponent. Collegian file photo. 

JOSHUA DOERING | STAFF REPORTER | jdoering@butler.edu

The Butler University men’s soccer team started their season with a bang, defeating the University of Illinois at Chicago 1-0 at the Sellick Bowl in overtime on a goal from junior midfielder Jared Timmer.

“The ball was up in the air and I just went and attacked it,” Timmer said. “And it went in the back of the net. I loved it. Good feeling for the team.”

Five minutes into the first overtime period, sophomore midfielder Lewis Suddick placed a free kick inside the box, which Timmer was able to head into the net.

“I just thought if I could get it into a dangerous area, we would cause problems,” Suddick said. “Luckily, Jared’s got his head on the end of one and we’ve won the game so that was great.”

The first half was a back and forth affair but neither team was able to put the ball in the net. The Bulldogs outshot the Flames 7-5, with both teams getting two shots on goal.

The only shot on goal in the second half belonged to UIC until a late surge by the Bulldogs. Despite a combined 28 shots in regulation, the game was scoreless after 90 minutes. Of the Bulldogs’ 16 shots in the game, seven came from senior midfielder Eric Leonard.

“It’s great getting a shutout,” head coach Paul Snape said. “We weren’t special tonight. There were times when we looked very good. It was a little bit fragmented so we’ve got to kind of clean it up and see if we can be a little more organized defensively.”

 

The Bulldogs have a short turnaround, as they travel to face the University of Louisville on Aug. 28.

“They’re a great, great team,” redshirt senior goalie Eric Dick said. “That’s where we strive to be every single year and that’s where we think we deserve to be every single year so challenging ourselves to play against top quality teams is just going to make us better.”

The Cardinals are currently ranked ninth in the country in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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