Full Notes (PDF)

ONE LAST HURRAH: Butler plays host to Marquette Saturday night in the team's final regular season game at the Butler Bowl. Prior to the match, the team will honor its seniors. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network, part of the FOX Sports Go app. The Bulldogs are 4-3 in BIG EAST play (9-5-1 overall) and are ranked No. 15 nationally this week. Marquette is 1-4-2 in conference play and 4-6-4 overall.
 
WHAT'S AT STAKE: The BIG EAST regular season includes two remaining matches for each of the 10 teams. The top six schools advance to the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament. The top of the table is incredibly compact. Providence (with 15 points) is the only BIG EAST team to clinch a BIG EAST Tournament berth at this point. On the other end of the spectrum, all 10 teams are still mathematically eligible for the field. Butler (with 12 points) is currently fifth, trailing Villanova, Creighton and Xavier (which each have 13 points entering the weekend). The Bulldogs clinch a tournament spot with a win in either of their final two matches. They could still make the field with other scenarios, but the Bulldogs control their own destiny.
 
MORE ON THE TOURNAMENT: The top two seeds in the BIG EAST Tournament receive a bye to the semifinals. The #3 and #4 seeds will host quarterfinal matches featuring the #6 and #5 seeds, respectively. The Bulldogs, as with teams currently No. 2-4 in the standings, have every possibility still in play, ranging from the #1 seed to not making the six-team field.
 
SENIOR SEND-OFF: Butler will recognize its six seniors prior to Saturday night's match. The group includes seniors A. R. Smith, Charlie Constantino, David Goldsmith, and Mitch Ostrowski, in addition to redshirt juniors Robert Flott and Tanner Witsken. Both Flott and Witsken will graduate and not return to Butler for the 2017 season. Over the past four years, the Bulldogs have won 36 matches and are working toward their third appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament, while being nationally ranked in each of the past two seasons.
 
CLIMBING: The Bulldogs jumped to No. 15 (from No. 19) in this week's NSCAA national poll. Butler has climbed as high as No. 7 in that poll this season. This week, the Bulldogs also come in at No. 19 in the College Soccer News and No. 20 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings.
 
LAST TIME OUT: With just seconds remaining on the clock in double overtime, DePaul's Zach El-Shafei put home a rebound off a saved free kick to give the host Blue Demons a 1-0 win in Chicago Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs out-shot DePaul, 19-8. David Goldsmith and Lewis Suddick led Butler with five shots each. Eric Dick made three saves on the afternoon.
 
AGAINST MARQUETTE: Marquette leads the all-time series against Butler by a 4-3 margin. Butler snapped a three-game losing skid to the Golden Eagles with a 1-0 home win in 2014, and followed that up with a 2-0 win in Milwaukee in 2015. 

ONE YEAR AGO: David Goldsmith scored both goals in a 2-0 win at Marquette late in the 2015 season. Goldsmith took five shots for Butler and found the net twice. In the 23^rd minute, Goldsmith headed in a cross from Vincent Mitchell that Marco Charalambous originally set up for the game-winner. Goldsmith added an insurance goal seven minutes later, heading in a Jeff Adkins free kick. Eric Dick posted the shutout for the Bulldogs; he made four saves on the night. Each team fired 12 shots.

WHERE HE STACKS UP: Senior David Goldsmith enters weekend play with 39 career goals. That is good for fourth in Butler history, trailing only Scott Lawler (50), Nick Pantazi (44), and Stephen Armstrong (43). Among active players in NCAA Division I, Goldsmith's 39 goals trail only Guillermo Delgado of Delaware (48) and Buffalo's Russell Cicerone (40).
 
QUALITY COMPETITION: Butler is ranked No. 16 in this week's NCAA RPI metrics. Butler and Louisville (No. 3) tied in the season opener. The Bulldogs have wins over six Top 100 teams: Villanova (29), Providence (39), Georgetown (55), UC Santa Barbara (87), Evansville (92), and SIUE (93). Seven of the 10 BIG EAST schools are ranked in the Top 81 of the RPI.
 
Three of Butler's five losses have come at the feet of teams ranked in the Top 30 of the RPI: Denver (14), Creighton (21) and Indiana (30). Those three teams, along with Louisville, are ranked in the Top 20 of the NSCAA national poll this week.
 
LAST LINE OF DEFENSE: Goalkeeper Eric Dick has orchestrated shutouts in five of Butler's matches thus far this season, posting a 1.09 goals against average. He has 50 saves on the season, highlighted by nine saves at Indiana, which was just off the 10 saves he registered in the regular season opener at Louisville. Dick also turned away a penalty kick at IU.
 
BACK TO THEIR WINNING WAYS: Butler stopped a three-match losing streak by beating Seton Hall, 1-0, Saturday night in Indianapolis. Junior Eric Leonard scored his first goal of the season as his tally in the 22^nd minute proved to be the game-winner. Eric Dick and the defense registered Butler's fifth shutout of the season. Butler enjoyed a 14-8 shot advantage in the match.
 
EFFICIENCY: Butler registered 14 shots in Saturday's win over Seton Hall with nine of those coming on goal. Senior David Goldsmith led the team with five shots. Butler ranks 10^th nationally in both shots per game (15.9) and shots on goal per game (6.9). The Bulldogs lead the BIG EAST in shots on goal, and trail only Creighton in the league in total shots. Individually, Goldsmith leads the BIG EAST in both categories and is among the national leaders with 4.40 shots per game (fifth nationally) and 2.13 shots on goal per game (sixth nationally).