Full Notes (PDF)

TITLE ON THE LINE: Butler looks for its first BIG EAST title in men's soccer Sunday, hosting Creighton in the championship match of the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament. The Bulldogs earned the right to play the match in Indianapolis as the league's top remaining seed in the tournament. The second-seeded Bulldogs and fourth-seeded Creighton will meet at Noon with the match airing live nationally on FS2. Butler is 12-5-1 on the season, while the Bluejays are 11-5-3.
 
HOW WE GOT HERE: As the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, the Bulldogs received a bye into Thursday's semifinals. Butler's David Goldsmith scored the game-winner in the 107^th minute to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 win over No. 3 seed Villanova. Creighton defeated top-seeded Providence, 2-1, Thursday night on the East Coast, and will now travel to Indianapolis for the championship match.
 
SEMIFINAL HEROICS: Goldsmith's 12^th goal of the season came off a beautiful ball from freshman Lewis Suddick, who lofted a pass from 20 yards out. Goldsmith fought for position in the box and was able to head the ball inside the right post. It was the fourth game-winning goal for the BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Goldsmith's goal gave Butler a 14-13 advantage in shots. Villanova had 12 corner kicks to just five for Butler. The incredibly physical match included 18 fouls for Villanova and eight for Butler, while the teams combined for three cards.
 
The Bulldogs played without freshman Isaac Galliford, who was forced to miss the match due to yellow cards accumulated throughout the season. He will return for Sunday's BIG EAST championship match.
 
CLEAN SHEET: Butler's Eric Dick made five saves Thursday night in the 1-0 win over Villanova in posting his sixth shutout of the season. Dick boats a 1.01 goals against average, minding the net for all 1,688 minutes of action for the Bulldogs this season. He has only allowed more than one goal in six of Butler's 18 matches. Dick has 61 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.
 
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Bulldogs have their eye on the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that comes with capturing the BIG EAST title. However, Butler has put together an impressive season resume to be considered for an at-large selection to the postseason. Butler is currently No. 16 in the NCAA RPI rankings (released Monday). Butler and Louisville (No. 7) tied in the season opener. The Bulldogs have wins over eight Top 100 teams: Providence (24), Villanova (38), Georgetown (60), Xavier (63), UC Santa Barbara (78), SIUE (81), Oregon State (85), and Evansville (92). Seven of the 10 BIG EAST schools are ranked in the Top 65 of the RPI.
 
Four of Butler's five losses have come at the feet of teams ranked in the Top 65 of the RPI: Denver (12), Indiana (17), Creighton (31) and DePaul (65).
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING: The Bulldogs are No. 15 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. 16 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings and No. 24 in the College Soccer News poll.
 
Sunday's match will be a meeting of Top 25 programs as Creighton is No. 24 in this week's NSCAA poll. The Oct. 7 match-up between the two programs saw both ranked inside the Top 10 nationally.
 
THE MATCH-UP: Butler and Creighton meet for the eighth time in the series Sunday. The Bluejays hold a 7-0-1 advantage including a 4-0 record since the teams became BIG EAST foes in 2013. That includes Creighton's 1-0 victory in Omaha Oct. 7. The series dates back to a 2-1 Creighton win during the 1996 season. In Indianapolis a season ago, Creighton was ranked No. 1 in the country and held off Butler, 1-0.
 
FIRST TIME AROUND: Butler created a number of opportunities over the final 45 minutes but none of the chances found the net as the ninth-ranked Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought 1-0 battle Oct. 7 at No. 10 Creighton. After being out-shot, 9-2, in the opening half, Butler controlled play in the second half, creating 10 shots to just two for the home team. A frantic final minute had the ball in front of the Creighton frame several times, but Alex Lehtinen's shot at the final horn rolled just wide. The lone score of the match came in the 14^th minute as Riggs Lennon headed in a corner kick by Joel Rydstrand.
 
SECOND SEASON: This is Butler's first appearance in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Tournament championship match. Butler has advanced to the NCAA Tournament on six occasions (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2009, and 2010). Five of those came by earning the automatic berth that came from winning the Midwestern Collegiate Conference/Horizon League Tournament. The 2009 team earned an at-large bid after UW-Green Bay won the Horizon League title on penalty kicks over Butler). Butler won the 2015 BIG EAST title in women's soccer.
 
THE WEEK THAT WAS: Lewis Suddick earned BIG EAST honors for both Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week for his performance in the Bulldogs' regular season finale at Xavier Nov. 3. Monday's announcement by the league office is the final weekly award of the 2016 season. Suddick scored both goals in Butler's 2-1 win at Xavier on the final night of the BIG EAST men's soccer regular season. The win clinched the No. 2 spot seed for the Bulldogs in the league's final standings. Suddick's goal came in the third and 77th minutes, with the game-winner serving as his 11th goal of the season.
 
Suddick was also named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for his work last week.
 
FIVE BULLDOGS EARN ALL-BIG EAST HONORS: Five Bulldogs – David Goldsmith, Jared Timmer, Mitch Ostrowski, Lewis Suddick, and Isaac Galliford – were honored with All-BIG EAST accolades for their performances this season. The BIG EAST announced the honorees Saturday, Nov. 5.
 
Goldsmith shared BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors with Providence's Julian Gressel. The senior from Bristol, England was also a unanimous first-team All-BIG EAST selection. Goldsmith tied for the BIG EAST lead with 11 goals during the regular season. His 70 shots were second in the league. Goldsmith has been among the national leaders in goals and shots throughout the season. Earlier this season, he was named the National Player of the Week by the NCAA, NSCAA, College Soccer News, and Top Drawer Soccer for his performance in two matches during the Akron Invitational. He earned weekly honors from the BIG EAST Conference three times this season. Previously, Goldsmith won the BIG EAST Newcomer of the Year Award in 2013, and has been a second-team All-BIG EAST selection for the past three seasons.
 
Timmer joins Goldsmith on the All-BIG EAST First Team as his nine assists on the season lead the conference. Five of those helpers came in the team's BIG EAST matches. Timmer, a sophomore, is one of the best two-way players in the conference. He added two goals during the regular season while helping the Bulldogs out-score opponents, 33-19, in 17 matches. The Michigan native was on the All-Newcomer Team a season ago.
 
Senior captain Ostrowski earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. He had a goal and four assists in starting 15 matches along Butler's back line. A solid defender, he earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors earlier in the season. His four assists are a career-high for the fifth-year player from Houston, Texas.
 
Freshmen Suddick and Galliford were voted on to the BIG EAST All-Newcomer Team. Six of Suddick's league-leading 11 goals this season came in BIG EAST play. His three game-winning goals during the regular season tied Goldsmith for the team lead. Galliford's 51 shots on the season were second on the team. His 12 points during the regular season came on three goals and six assists. Both Suddick and Galliford were unanimous selections to the rookie team.
 
SENIOR SEND-OFF: Butler sent its six seniors out in style Oct. 29 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 38 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 Oct. 29 against Marquette ended a five-match scoreless streak for Goldsmith, who also had two goals against Georgetown on Oct. 1. In addition to leading the BIG EAST in goals, he is also eighth in the nation (teammate Lewis Suddick is tenth). His 27 points lead the conference and are 13^th in the NCAA so far this season.
 
LET ME HELP YOU WITH THAT: With another assist in Butler's win at Xavier, sophomore Jared Timmer is up to nine on the season. The total leads the BIG EAST and is tenth nationally.
 
FIRE WHEN READY: The Bulldogs average 15.4 shots per match this season, which is third in the BIG EAST and 16^th nationally. David Goldsmith's 4.1 shots per game are fourth in the conference and 13^th nationally. A good number of the team's shots have been on net this season with the team putting 6.7 per match on goal. That mark is second in the BIG EAST and is 16th in the NCAA. Goldsmith is eighth in the nation (and leads the BIG EAST) with an average of 2.0 shots on goal per match.
 
WHERE HE STACKS UP: Senior David Goldsmith enters Sunday's play with 41 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 41 goals trail only Guillermo Delgado of Delaware (48) and are tied with Buffalo's Russell Cicerone.
 
TWO IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Butler has scored multiple goals in 11 of its 18 matches. It is 10-1 in those contests. Butler has scored a total of three goals in its other seven matches, posting a 2-4-1 record that includes 1-0 wins over Villanova (BIG EAST semifinals) and Seton Hall, and a 0-0 tie at Louisville in the season opener.
 
Butler averages an impressive 1.89 goals per game. That mark is 18th nationally and leads the BIG EAST. Factoring in goals and assists, Butler averages 5.83 points per game, which is ninth 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.