Brandon Guhl during a game this season. Guhl scored his seventh goal of the season in the defeat. Jimmy Lafakis/Collegian file photo. 

JOSH MULLENIX | STAFF REPORTER | jmulleni@butler.edu

The Butler men’s soccer team concluded their 2018 season with a 5-3 loss to Xavier on Oct. 31. The Bulldogs finished the year with a 4-12-2 record, which included a 2-7 Big East conference record.

Five goals were scored in the first 45 minutes of action in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier’s Samson Sergi scored his first of three goals on the evening in the ninth minute. Sergi was responsible for the first three Musketeer goals, netting the other two in the 32nd and 55th minutes.

The Bulldogs scored three times in the first half and held the lead on two different occasions. Senior Kieran Geldenhuys scored his first goal of the season in the 13th minute off an assist from sophomore Joel Harvey.

Junior Brandon Guhl followed suit 90 seconds later when he scored in the middle of the box off an assist from freshman Griffin DeBolt. Fellow freshman Eric Conerty slotted the third and final goal for the Bulldogs in the 37th minute of action off an assist from Jack Haywood.

The second half belonged to Xavier as Felix Boe-Tangen scored in the 65th and 77th minutes to secure the victory for the Musketeers and secure their spot in the Big East conference tournament.

Finishing with a 4-12-2 record and missing the Big East tournament, the Bulldogs will not get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, ending the 2018 campaign for Butler.