Bulldogs Tie Third-Highest Win Total In School History
VICTORY RUN: One year after matching the
fourth-highest win total in school history, the Butler men’s
soccer team improved its performance. The 2009 Bulldogs
became just the fourth team in Butler men’s soccer history to
record 14 victories in a season. Butler built an impressive
resume in head coach Kelly Findley’s fourth season, capturing
the Horizon League regular season championship and advancing to the
title game of the 2009 Horizon League Men’s Soccer
Tournament. The Bulldogs and Green Bay tied, 0-0, in the
title tilt, and the Phoenix earned the league’s automatic bid
to the NCAA Tournament on penalty kicks. But the
Bulldogs also advanced to the national championship as an at-large
selection with a No. 12 seed. The high seed earned Butler a
first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, a first in school
history! Indiana ended Butler’s remarkable season, 1-0,
in the second round of the tournament. The Bulldogs finished
the season with a 14-3-2 record, matching Butler’s 1990 team
on the school’s all-time win chart. Only Butler’s
1998 (19) and 1995 (18) squads recorded more victories. The
Bulldogs won 11 of their first 13 matches, including victories over
#25 South Carolina and #14 Indiana, and compiled an eight-match
unbeaten streak from Sept. 25 to Oct. 27. Butler cracked the
“Top 25” in the National Soccer Coaches Association of
America national poll, climbing as high as No.
17.
Butler finished sixth in the NCAA Division I in won-loss
percentage (.789) in 2009.
FINAL POLLS: Butler ended the 2009
men’s soccer campaign in several national polls. The
Bulldogs were ranked 25th in the Soccer Times poll, 27th in the
NSCAA national rankings and 29th in the Top Drawer Soccer
poll. Butler was 30th in the final
RPI.
DEFENSIVE ‘DOGS: Butler led the
Horizon League and ranked ninth in the NCAA Division I in goals
against average (0.61) in 2009. The Bulldogs also led the
league in fewest goals allowed (12) and tied for second in the
circuit in shutouts (8). Butler’s 0.61 goals against
average broke the school record of 0.76, and the Bulldogs set a
school record for fewest goals allowed, breaking the school mark of
16. Both previous records were set a year ago.
Butler’s eight shutouts tied the sixth-highest total in
school history. Butler ranked 31st in the NCAA in shutout
percentage (.420) and 43rd in the nation in save percentage
(.810).
TOP STOPPER: Senior goalkeeper
Fabian Knopfler topped the Horizon League, ranked
12th in the NCAA Division I and set a school-record with his 0.66
goals against average in 2009. The Reutlingen, Germany native
allowed just 10 goals in 15 starts, while breaking the Butler
single season record of 0.70 set by Ben Anderson in 1998. He
also finished with a 1.04 goals against average for his three
seasons with the Bulldogs, matching the Butler career record set by
Evan Reinhardt (2002-04).
SMART CHOICE: The success enjoyed by the
Butler men’s soccer team on the field in 2009 was matched by
the team’s performance in the classroom. Junior Conner
Burt became just the second player in Butler men’s soccer
history to earn first team Academic All-America recognition, and
Butler’s entire team received a Team Academic Award from the
National Soccer Coaches of America Association. Burt, seniors
Nick Hegeman and Boris Gatzky, and juniors Brett Heinz and Ben
Sippola were chosen second team NSCAA Scholar All-Region, while
Burt, Gatzky, Fabian Knopfler and Sippola were named Horizon League
Academic All-League.
BULLDOG BITS: Freshman Julian Cardona, who
led the Horizon League in game-winning goals (4) in 2009, was named
second team on the Soccer America Freshman All-America
Team...Senior Boris Gatzky finished his career in third place on
Butler’s all-time list for assists (20). He tied for
sixth all-time in shots (171) and finished 11th in points
(54). His 67 shots this season were the fifth-highest total
in Butler history...Senior goalkeepers Fabian Knopfler and Nick
Hegeman tied for sixth on Butler’s list for career shutouts
(10).
