Bulldogs Host Bradley In 2011 Season-Opener
SEASON START: Butler, one year removed
from one of the finest seasons in school history, will begin the
2011 men’s soccer season at home on Friday, August 26.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 21 in the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America Preseason Poll, will host Bradley at 5:30
p.m. (ET) at the Butler Bowl. Butler rolled through an
unbeaten regular season a year ago and advanced to the second round
of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship before
falling to Michigan State, 1-0. The 16-1-3 Bulldogs won
Horizon League regular season and tournament crowns, compiled a
school-record 12-match winning streak and became the first team in
school history to finish with just a single loss. The 16 wins
were the third-most in Butler men’s soccer history and the
15-0-2 regular season mark was the best in school annals The
Bulldogs posted a school-record #5 ranking during the 2010 campaign
and ended the year ranked in the “Top 20.” The
match against Bradley will be Butler’s lone home contest in
the first four weeks of the season. The Bulldogs will play in
the Michigan and Dayton tournaments and visit top-ranked Louisville
and IPFW before returning to the Butler Bowl to host Milwaukee on
Sept. 24.
Butler is unbeaten in its last 19 regular season
matches. The Bulldogs have just two losses in their last 41
regular season contests.
NEW LEADERSHIP: Head Coach Paul Snape will
make his Butler debut when the Bulldogs host Bradley on Friday
(Aug. 26). The former Michigan associate head coach was named
to Butler’s top position in January, after former Butler
coach Kelly Findley left to become the head coach at North Carolina
State. Snape spent eight seasons on the staff at Michigan and
helped lead the Wolverines to the 2010 NCAA Division I College Cup
Final Four. Michigan finished with a 17-5-3 record last
season and captured its first Big Ten Tournament
title.
BACK IN BLUE: Butler lost six starters from
last year’s successful squad, but new head coach Paul Snape
does have two of last year’s top three scorers
returning. Sophomore Adekunle Oluyedun was
second on the team in scoring in 2010 with five goals and four
assists, while sophomore Austin Oldham tied for third on the squad
with five goals and three assists. Both players were named to
the 2010 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team. Also back from
last season’s starting unit are juniors Tyler Pollock and
Jared Isenthal and sophomore Jordan Burt. Pollock, who had
three goals and one assist last season, and Isenthal, who recorded
three assists in 2010, both were named to the Horizon League
All-Newcomer Team in 2009, while Burt, who posted one goal and one
assist a year ago, joined Oluyedun and Oldham on last year’s
All-Newcomer squad.
The Bulldogs return 11 letterwinners from last year’s
successful squad.
BULLDOG BITS: Head coach Paul Snape has
added freshman Zach Steinberger to this year’s roster.
Steinberger, who attended Bradenton Academy in Florida, has been
playing in Europe for the past year. He most recently was a
member of Karlsruhe SC in Germany...Butler will face three teams
ranked in the NSCAA Preseason “Top 25” in 2011.
The Bulldogs will visit No. 9 Michigan on Sept. 2, and No. 1
Louisville on Sept. 17. No. 17 Indiana will make its first
trip to the Butler Bowl for a 7 p.m. (ET) match on Oct. 12.
Butler opened the 2011 campaign with a preseason exhibition match
against No. 12 Notre Dame...Butler’s incoming class of
newcomers was ranked as a “Top 40” recruiting class by
College Soccer News. Freshmen Vlad Lekarev and
Brycen Howard each were listed among the publication’s
“Top 150 Recruits” for 2011. Lekarev was tabbed
No. 57 on the list, while Howard came in at No. 61.
(Photos by Brent Smith, Butler University)
