Redshirt junior midfielder Tommy Visser sends the ball up the field in the game against Indiana on Sept. 14. Photo by Claire Runkel.
MATTHEW CRANE | SPORTS CO-EDITOR | mcrane@butler.edu
The Butler men’s soccer team tied Xavier 3-3 at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs end the regular season with a 9-5-3 record and will be the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Big East Tournament.
The Musketeers struck first in the match with a goal in the seventh minute by graduate student Alejandro Steinwascher. The lead would not last long as the Bulldogs were able to answer quickly.
In the 16th minute, senior forward Hemi Nasser sent a pass to fifth-year midfielder Jack Haywood, who promptly passed it back to Nasser, who would score and tie the game up at 1-1.
From then on, the two teams would trade possession and the score would remain level going into halftime. The Musketeers attempted five shots in the first half and the Bulldogs attempted four shots in what was a defensive half that required one save by Butler fifth-year goalkeeper Gabriel Gjergji.
The start of the second half featured early attempts by both teams, but the Dawgs were able to establish themselves. In the 57th minute, senior forward Wilmer Cabrera Jr scored off an assist from redshirt senior midfielder Jack Streberger to take a 2-1 lead.
Xavier would then tie the game back up off an unassisted goal in the 74th minute by first-year Nicolas Hald Willumsen.
That game-tying goal gave momentum to the visiting side who were able to take the lead in the 86th minute when graduate student Kendall Allen scored to silence the home crowd.
The Bulldogs were able to work the ball up the pitch and secure a throw-in. As a result of the throw-in, redshirt junior midfielder Tommy Visser was able to send it past Xavier redshirt junior keeper Cole Jensen with 13 seconds left in the match. Senior defender Perrin Barnes and first-year forward Palmer Ault were credited with assists on the play that allowed the Dawgs to end the game with a 3-3 tie.
Visser’s goal was his first of the season and the fifth of his career. His late-game heroics earned him recognition as Big East Offensive Player of the Week.
Butler’s next game will be against No. 5 seed Providence in the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals. The Bulldogs will host the Friars on Nov. 5 at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl with kick-off set for 7 p.m.
