Match Notes

INDIANAPOLIS – The 2015 women's soccer season will begin tonight with a 7 p.m. match at Cleveland State. The contest between the Bulldogs and the Vikings will be aired live on ESPN 3.

2015 Season Outlook
Butler returns a solid group of players for the upcoming season after posting a 9-8-2 record a year ago. Sophia Maccagnone and Serina Kashimoto highlight the returning cast after earning all-conference honors in 2014. Maccagnone is an offensive threat that posted 20 points last year with five goals and 10 assists. She moved to fourth place all-time in the Butler women's soccer record book with 10 assists in a single-season. Maccagnone's effort during her junior campaign also moved her to fifth place in a number of categories on the career record list. The midfielder now has 26 goals, 20 assists to total 72 career points. She also ranks fifth all-time with 252 career shots.

Kashimoto is one of the top all-around players in the BIG EAST Conference. She scored three goals and added three assists to her career totals in 2014, but may be better known as a standout defender by her peers. The defensive unit will also welcome back Randi DeLong, yet another top tier player to start in all 19 games for Butler a season ago.

All-Time Series
Butler leads Cleveland State in the all-time series 5-3. The Vikings won the last battle 1-0, a match which took place during the 2011 season.

Scouting Cleveland State
The Vikings went 8-8-3 last year, advancing to the Horizon League Tournament for the first time since 2011. Second-year Head Coach Sonia Curvelo added 11 newcomers to the program during her first offseason at the helm.

The newcomers will mix with a strong supporting cast as Curvelo returns a core of players that helped CSU notch eight wins in 2014. The Vikings lost their leading goal scorer from a year ago (Amanda Sivic), but they return a trio of players that netted four goals each in Vickie Havas, Kaila Sargema and Allie Sieradzki.

The defensive unit will be led by senior goalkeeper Sarah Wood, one of just six players to start in all 19 matches a year ago. Wood was a Second Team All-Conference selection after making 73 saves. She helped the Vikings post six shutouts, allowing just 18 goals throughout the season.

Season Openers
The Bulldogs are 3-6 in season openers under the guidance of Co-Head Coach Tari St. John. The team is 1-2 in the past three seasons with Rob Alman on board as a Co-Head Coach.
2014 – Won vs. Ohio 3-2 (2OT)
2013 – Lost at Louisville 0-2
2012 – Lost at Louisville 0-2
2011 – Won vs. Madonna 4-0
2010 – Lost at Dayton 0-1
2009 – Lost at Western Kentucky 0-1
2008 – Lost vs. Louisville 1-3
2007 – Won vs. Eastern Illinois 1-0
2006 – Lost at San Diego State 0-2

2014 Season Opener
Butler defeated Ohio 3-2 in double overtime during the 2014 season opener, a match that doubled as the first game of the Boilermaker Challenge Cup. The Bulldogs were led by Kelly Mahoney who scored two of Butler's three goals against the Bobcats. Mahoney opened up the scoring with a header goal in the 67th minute of the contest. Her second goal was the game-winner as she once again hooked up with Stephanie Kaylor to deliver a header goal off a corner kick in double overtime.

Early Tests
The 2015 women's soccer season gets started on Friday for all 10 BIG EAST teams. The squads will combine for 18 total matches on the weekend, including 12 against opponents which finished .500 or better last season.

BIG EAST National Spotlight
BIG EAST coaches were split over who would be atop the standings at season's end as St. John's and DePaul tied for first in the preseason poll. The pair, which collected 73 points and four first-place votes apiece, narrowly edged out Georgetown's 70 points and remaining two first-place nods. The Blue Demons, Hoyas and Marquette represented the BIG EAST in the national preseason poll which was released in early August. DePaul opens the season in the NSCAA Top 25 for the first time in program history, coming in at No. 21. Georgetown came in soon after at No. 25, opening the year nationally ranked for the third consecutive season. Marquette, which was tabbed fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll, received votes in the national poll. 

Preseason Coaches' Poll
Butler (42) took sixth place in the 2015 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll after a vote from the 10 league head coaches. DePaul and St. John's tied for the top spot (73) with Georgetown (70) rounding out the top three. Marquette (60) came in at fourth with Providence (47) earning fifth. After Butler the poll featured Villanova (31), Creighton (24) Seton Hall (19) and Xavier (11). 

Preseason All-Conference
Sophia Maccagnone and Serina Kashimoto were named Preseason All-BIG EAST by the conference office on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Maccagnone is looking to become the second Bulldog ever to earn four-straight First Team All-Conference honors (Chris Johnson, 91-94) once the season comes to an end and Kashimoto would be a three-time recipient although her freshman year she was named to the Second Team. 

Goalkeeper Watch
BU fans will want to tune into ESPN 3 to see who the Bulldogs will start at goalkeeper in the season opener. All three goalies on the 2015 roster went into training camp to battle for the starting position. Hannah Luedtke and Elizabeth James are both newcomers to the squad while Madison Card enters her sophomore campaign with 193 minutes of collegiate action as a keeper.

Non-Conference Schedule
The Bulldogs have a great opportunity to head into the conference season with a strong record as the program currently holds the upper hand in the all-time series against every non-conference opponent on the 2015 schedule with the exception of Milwaukee.

Winning Ways
Butler won five-straight matches a year ago from Sept. 7 to Sept. 19, outscoring their opponents 14-2 during that span. The winning streak matched the highest total ever under the guidance of Co-Head Coach Tari St. John as the Bulldogs also rattled off five-straight during her second season at the helm back in 2007. BU outscored their opponents 11-2 during that time frame. 

Stoney Creek Trio
Carly Harvey, Jamison Midgley and Madison Toth will continue their soccer playing careers together at Butler after successful high school careers. All three student-athletes reign from Rochester, Michigan competing for Stoney Creek High School.

WSOC on BEDN
Butler will play six games on the BIG EAST Digital Network this season. The BIG EAST network launched BEDN in 2014-15 becoming the first collegiate conference to be hosted on FOX's mobile platform, FOX Sports Go, the app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go. Butler's first appearance on BEDN will be at Providence on Sunday, Oct. 4. The team will play six of their final seven games of the regular season on the BEDN.

Twitter Updates
Be sure to follow the Butler women's soccer team on Twitter @ButlerWSoccer.

Up Next
The 2015 home opener will feature Butler hosting Eastern Michigan on Monday, Aug. 24. Kickoff at the Butler Bowl is set for 7 p.m.