Box Score The Starting Eleven – Notes for the Bulldogs' Match at Loyola, September 19, 2015
Familiar Foe: Butler travels to Chicago to face Loyola Saturday night. The Bulldogs and Ramblers met annually as Horizon League foes before Butler moved to the BIG EAST and Loyola transitioned to the Missouri Valley. Loyola will offer live video and live stats for Saturday night's match. Links have been established on Butler's schedule page.
Last Time Out: Vincent Mitchell scored two second-half goals and nearly won the game in the second overtime in a 2-2 tie against #22 Indiana. A crowd of 4,411 was treated to a brilliant soccer match at the Butler Bowl. Both of Mitchell's goals came in the second half as Butler overcame a 2-0 deficit. The match was similar to the 2013 contest between the teams when Butler scored two second-half goals to tie the match and won in the second overtime period. In the 2015 edition, Mitchell was denied the hat trick and the game-winner when his shot 1v1 with the Hoosiers' keeper sailed wide left in the 104
th minute.
Vinny to the Lead: With his two goals Wednesday against Indiana,
Vincent Mitchell took over the team lead with eight points. Mitchell and junior
David Goldsmith are tied among Butler's leaders with three goals apiece.
Welcome Back Captain: Senior captain Mitch Ostrowski saw his first action of the season Wednesday night against #22 Indiana, logging 89 minutes coming off an injury that has limited him dating back to the preseason. Butler has sent out the same starting 11 in each of its five matches. Ostrowski's availability might impact that note moving forward.
The Keeper Keeps On: Redshirt sophomore
Eric Dick registered six saves against Drake, just one off his career-high, in the team's shutout win. It was his second shutout of the young season as he also had six saves in the team's season-opening shutout at Wisconsin. Dick now has seven shutouts in his Butler career. He also had a shared shutout during the 2014 campaign. For the 2015 season, Dick posts a 3-0-2 record and a 0.91 GAA. Two of the five goals allowed by Dick have come via penalty kicks.
On the Defensive: Butler ranks second in the BIG EAST in goals allowed, with opponents only scoring five goals in five games (492 minutes). The Bulldogs have also shut out opponents in two of their five matches. Goalkeeper Eric Dick's 0.91 goals against average and .815 save percentage rank fourth and third respectively in the BIG EAST.
Lending a Foot: Sophomore
Eric Leonard is tied for the BIG EAST lead in assists (three) and assists per game (0.60 per game). Leonard scored or assisted on four of Butler's first five goals this season. He registered points in each of Butler's first three matches and assisted on the team's first two game-winners (at Wisconsin to open the season and at IUPUI on Sept. 1).
Hot Start: Butler is undefeated through its fifth match of the season for the second time in the past five seasons (2013).
Youth Movement: Players logging their first minutes in a Butler uniform this season account for approximately 40 percent of the minutes played in the field for the Bulldogs. Butler's line-up has included redshirt freshman
Marco Charalambous and true freshmen
Jared Timmer,
Michael Peay and
Joe Moulden in each of the team's five matches. Butler's 26-man roster includes 13 players who could potentially see their first minutes in a Butler uniform this season (nine already have). The roster includes 13 returning players, three redshirt freshmen and 10 newcomers (nine true freshmen and one transfer).
Offensive Explosion: Butler's four goals against Drake on Saturday were the most in a match for the Bulldogs since a 4-1 decision over Houston Baptist on Sept. 9, 2013.
Balanced Attack: In Butler's 4-0 win over Drake, four different Bulldogs found the net. Senior
Caleb Postlewait opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick. Classmate
Jeff Adkins scored off a free kick. In the second half,
David Goldsmith took a long feed and got behind the defense to score. Freshman
Nolan Schloneger concluded the scoring. It was the first goal of the season for Postlewait, Adkins and Schloneger, respectively.
Bonus Note / Top Dawg: Head coach Paul Snape is in his fifth season at the helm of Butler's program. He now posts a 32-31-16 record as he has navigated the Bulldogs from the Horizon League to the Atlantic 10 and now to the BIG EAST Conference.
Bonus Note / Up Next: The Bulldogs return to Indianapolis to open BIG EAST play against Villanova Saturday, Sept. 26. The 7 p.m. match is part of Butler's Homecoming Weekend festivities.
Bonus Note / Public Service Announcement: Keep updated on the Bulldogs throughout the season on ButlerSports.com and on Twitter at @ButlerMenSoccer. Saturday's match includes both a live video feed and live stats courtesy of Loyola. Links are available on the Men's Soccer schedule page.
