Full Notes (PDF)

REGULAR SEASON FINALE: Butler travels to Cincinnati for a Thursday night match-up with BIG EAST rival Xavier to wrap up the 2016 regular season. 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. Both teams are jockeying for a top seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament. The Bulldogs are 5-3 in BIG EAST play (10-5-1 overall) and are ranked No. 18 nationally this week. Xavier is 4-3-1 in conference play and 8-6-3 overall.
 
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The top six teams advance to the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament. With Butler's win over Marquette Saturday night, the Bulldogs clinched their spot in the field. With only one regular season game remaining, Butler's scenarios range from being the top seed in the tournament to being the No. 6 seed. Butler is currently No. 2 in the conference standings, trailing only Providence. Those two teams, along with Villanova and Xavier, have clinched four of the six available spots. Georgetown, Creighton and DePaul are still alive for the final two berths. With a win at Xavier, Butler is guaranteed a top-two seed, a bye into the semifinals, and a home match in the semifinals. A Butler win coupled with a Providence loss means Butler will be the No. 1 seed due to beating Providence earlier in the season. A tie would guarantee at least hosting a quarterfinal match at the Butler Bowl, with the possibility of obtaining a top-two seed based on results in other Thursday BIG EAST matches. A loss means Butler could land in spots 3 through 6.
 
SENIOR SEND-OFF: Butler sent its six seniors out in style Saturday night with a 2-1 win over Marquette. The six departing players were recognized in pre-match ceremony. 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 37 matches and will make their third appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament, while being nationally ranked in each of the past two seasons.
 
THERE'S THAT MAN AGAIN: Senior David Goldsmith's goal Saturday night against Marquette was his league-leading 11^th of the season, as well as his third game-winner. The tally ended a five-match scoreless streak for Goldsmith, who had two goals against Georgetown on Oct. 1. In addition to leading the BIG EAST in goals, he is also eighth in the nation. His 25 points lead the conference and are 12^th in the NCAA so far this season.
 
LET ME HELP YOU WITH THAT: With two more assists in Saturday's win over Marquette, sophomore Jared Timmer is up to eight on the season. The total leads the BIG EAST and is 12^th nationally.
 
FIRE WHEN READY: The Bulldogs average 15.8 shots per match this season, which is second in the BIG EAST and 11^th nationally. David Goldsmith's 4.3 shots per game are second in the conference and 12^th nationally. A good number of the team's shots have been on net this season with the team putting 7.1 per match on goal. That mark leads the BIG EAST and is ninth in the NCAA. Goldsmith is fifth in the nation (and leads the BIG EAST) with an average of 2.1 shots on goal per match.
 
Thirty-four of Goldsmith's 68 shots (50 percent) have been on goal this season. As a team this season, Butler has put at least have of its shots on goal in an astonishing eight of 16 matches. In Saturday's win over Marquette, Butler put nine of 15 shots on goal (60 percent), its third-highest percentage of the season.
 
TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN: Butler coach Paul Snape will man the sidelines for the Bulldogs for the 99^th time with Thursday's match at Xavier. He has won 60 percent of his matches (49-40-19). His 100^th career Butler match will come with the Bulldogs' opening match of the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament.
 
LAST TIME OUT: David Goldsmith scored the game-winner in the 66^th minute as Butler celebrated Senior Night with a 2-1 win over Marquette Saturday night in Indianapolis. Butler erased a 1-0 Marquette lead with a goal from Lewis Suddick in the 16^th minute. Jared Timmer had two assists on the night and keeper Eric Dick made three saves. The Bulldogs out-shot Marquette, 15-8, led by four from Suddick.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING: The Bulldogs are No. 18 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. 25 in the College Soccer News and No. 20 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings.
 
AGAINST XAVIER: Butler leads the all-time series against Xavier by an 11-5 margin. The Bulldogs have won two of three meetings since the teams both joined the BIG EAST in 2013. The Musketeers are the most-played BIG EAST opponent for the Bulldogs with a series that dates back long before the teams began meeting in conference play in 2013.

ONE YEAR AGO: Butler celebrated its 2015 Senior Night in grand fashion, downing #25 Xavier by the score of 3-0. Senior Vincent Mitchell had two goals in the contest after David Goldsmith opened the scoring in the 12^th minute.

THESE KIDS CAN PLAY: Freshman Lewis Suddick scored his ninth goal of the season Saturday against Marquette. He is third in the BIG EAST in goals. Classmate Isaac Galliford has added three goals and five assists this season.
 
WHERE HE STACKS UP: Senior David Goldsmith enters this week's play with 40 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 40 goals trail only Guillermo Delgado of Delaware (48) and Buffalo's Russell Cicerone (41).
 
QUALITY COMPETITION: Butler is ranked No. 19 in this week's NCAA RPI metrics. Butler and Louisville (No. 10) tied in the season opener. The Bulldogs have wins over seven Top 100 teams: Providence (27), Villanova (37), Georgetown (52), Evansville (80), UC Santa Barbara (82), SIUE (84), and Oregon State (93). Seven of the 10 BIG EAST schools are ranked in the Top 52 of the RPI.
 
Four of Butler's five losses have come at the feet of teams ranked in the Top 30 of the RPI: Denver (16), Indiana (18), Creighton (36) and DePaul (50).
 
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 53 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.
 
TWO IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Butler has scored multiple goals in 10 of its 16 matches. It is 9-1 in those contests. Butler has scored a total of two goals in its other six matches, posting a 1-4-1 record that includes a 1-0 win over Seton Hall and a 0-0 tie at Louisville in the season opener.
 
Butler averages an impressive 1.94 goals per game. That mark is 17th nationally and leads the BIG EAST. Factoring in goals and assists, Butler averages 5.94 points per game, which is 12th in the NCAA while also leading the BIG EAST.
 
THESE GUYS ARE TOP DRAWER: Top Drawer Soccer released its Midseason Top 100 Player Rankings last week. Senior David Goldsmith comes in at No. 10 on the list. Freshman Lewis Suddick was ranked No. 13 on the Freshman Top 100 List.
 
CLASS ACT: David Goldsmith has been selected as a Senior Class Award candidate for the 2016 season. A total of 60 NCAA men's and women's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
 
QUICK STRIKES: Senior Mitch Ostrowski has four assists so far this season after having only two in his first 48 matches as a Bulldog…A.R. Smith got the start against Seton Hall. It was his first start of the season. Bennett Kim started Saturday against Marquette. He became the 16th Bulldog to start a match this season…sophomore Jared Timmer converted a penalty kick against Providence, his first goal in a Butler uniform. He added another goal at Indiana…redshirt junior Tanner Witsken assisted on David Goldsmith's game-winner at Villanova in the BIG EAST opener; it was the first point of Witsken's Butler career…Derek Sutton got the first start of his Butler career against Georgetown.