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LOOKING FOR REVENGE: Butler hosts Providence in a BIG EAST clash Saturday night at the Butler Bowl. The Bulldogs look to avenge the team that ended their 2015 season in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals. Butler enters the match ranked tenth nationally and still unbeaten at 6-0-1. Providence is 4-3. The 7 p.m. match will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network with Mark Minner handling the call.
STILL STINGS A BIT: Providence advanced to the 2015 BIG EAST semifinals via a shootout Nov. 8. Butler and the Friars played to a 2-2 draw through 110 minutes before the shootout determined who advanced. David Goldsmith had two goals for Butler. The Friars scored the equalizer with 90 seconds remaining in regulation and then used a 4-2 advantage to clinch the shootout. Butler had defeated Providence, 2-0, in Rhode Island during the regular season. The Bulldogs did not receive an NCAA berth, one of the last teams left outside the field.
IN THE RANKINGS: Butler is ranked No. 10 in the NSCAA national poll, and is also ranked in the Top 15 of the other three prominent national polls. The Bulldogs are No. 10 in the College Soccer News poll and No. 12 in this week's TopDrawerSoccer rankings, in addition to holding the No. 15 spot in the SoccerAmerica poll. Butler and Creighton (No. 12, NSCAA) are the only BIG EAST teams to be ranked this week.
THIS GUY IS ON FIRE: Senior forward David Goldsmith found the net again in Tuesday's win over Evansville, giving him seven goals in the team's last four matches. He added an assist Tuesday, which means he has 17 points (7 goals, 3 assists) during that four-match stretch. Goldsmith did not have a point in the team's first three matches of the season.
UNBLEMISHED: Through the matches of Wednesday, Sept. 21, Butler is now one of just seven programs nationally that is unbeaten. Two of the others are on Butler's upcoming schedule (Indiana and Denver). In addition to Butler, Indiana and Denver, other teams without a loss thus far include Loyola (Chicago), Syracuse, Maryland, and San Diego State. Â
THESE KIDS CAN PLAY: Freshmen Lewis Suddick and Isaac Galliford joined Goldsmith in finding the net Tuesday against Evansville. Suddick now has five goals on the year, with four coming at the Butler Bowl, including a hat trick in his home debut against IUPUI Aug. 30. Suddick's 12 points are second on the team to Goldsmith. Galliford has two goals and two assists.
EVERYONE'S IN ON THE ACT: Butler has 19 goals through seven matches this season, with that average of 2.71 goals ranking second in the NCAA (trailing only Charlotte at 2.80). The Bulldogs are also second in the country at 8.29 points per game. Six different Bulldogs have scored goals so far this season, while 13 players have registered at least one point. In comparison, 38 of the 203 NCAA programs have scored six or fewer goals on the season.
FIRE WHEN READY: David Goldsmith leads the nation in both shots and shots on goal, averaging 5.43 and 2.71 respectively in those two categories.
BACK TO BACK: For the second week in a row, Butler's David Goldsmith has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week. Goldsmith also earned a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week as announced Sept. 19. Goldsmith had two goals, including the overtime game-winner, and added an assist in the Bulldogs' 3-2 (OT) win at Villanova Saturday in the BIG EAST opener to earn the recognition. Â
A STRONG WEEK OF WORK: Butler senior David Goldsmith was selected as the National Player of the Week by three outlets on Sept. 12 after an impressive weekend of play. The NSCAA, College Soccer News and TopDrawerSoccer each named Goldsmith as their recipient of the national weekly honor. The Bristol, England product had two goals and an assist in the team's 4-2 win over (then) #7 Santa Barbara. He added two goals in the 3-0 win over Oregon State, which was receiving votes in the national polls. For the two matches, he combined for 16 shots.Â
MARCO…GOAL-O: Sophomore Marco Charalambous has three goals on the season, with all three coming in the team's last five matches. He had the first goal of the match against Oregon State Sept. 11, proving to be the game-winner. He had one goal and four assists in 2015, earning a spot on the BIG EAST All-Newcomer Team.
ON THE HORIZON: The Bulldogs have already played two teams that are ranked in the weekly polls: UC Santa Barbara and Louisville, which just defeated top-ranked Notre Dame over the weekend. The Bulldogs still have three ranked opponents on the upcoming schedule (NSCAA rankings): Indiana (#4), Denver (#8), and Creighton (#12).
WHO IS THIS GUY?: Senior captain Mitch Ostrowski entered the season with no career goals and two career assists. That came in three full seasons and part of 2015 when he was granted a medical redshirt. He has one goal and two assists in his last four matches, starting with a goal in the 4-2 win over #7 UC Santa Barbara Sept. 9.
LAST LINE OF DEFENSE: Goalkeeper Eric Dick has orchestrated shutouts in three of Butler's seven matches thus far this season, posting a 0.96 goals against average. His three shutouts are second in the BIG EAST. He has 23 saves on the season, highlighted by 10 saves in the regular season opener at Louisville. The total was just off his career-high of 12. Dick played every minute (1,702) in goal for the Bulldogs in 2016. He posted a 0.90 goals against average and seven shutouts in the team's 18 matches. Five of his shutouts came in the team's nine BIG EAST matches.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: With 36 career goals entering Saturday's match, senior David Goldsmith is third among active players in career goals. Despite missing four matches due to injury last season, Goldsmith finished third nationally in goals per game.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: Butler's 2016 roster includes seven players from overseas. Six of the seven have started all six matches. David Goldsmith (England), Marco Charalambous (Cyprus), Kieran Geldenhuys (Dubai, UAE), and Joe Moulden (England) started a majority of the contests a season ago. They were joined in the Starting XI by a trio of freshmen in Alex Lehtinen (Finland), Lewis Suddick (England) and Isaac Galliford (England). Lehtinen has started five of the six matches.
THE GOLDEN RETURN: Senior David Goldsmith was unanimously selected to the preseason All-BIG EAST team, as announced by the conference office August 17. Goldsmith has earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors in each of his first three seasons in Indianapolis. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-American (Third Team) in 2015.
LOOKING BACK: The Bulldogs posted an impressive 10-4-4 record a season ago, finishing third in the BIG EAST with a 6-3 conference record. Butler was one of the last six programs in the country last season to register a loss (which didn't come until Oct. 6) after starting the season 6-0-3. Butler did not advance out of the BIG EAST Quarterfinals as Providence moved on to the semifinals in penalty kicks.
LOOKING AHEAD: In tight voting by the league's coaches, Butler was selected to finish fifth in the 2016 campaign. Creighton was selected as the preseason favorite, followed by Georgetown, Providence, Xavier, and then the Bulldogs. Providence, Xavier and Butler were only separated by eight points in the poll. Villanova (sixth), Marquette, St. John's, DePaul, and Seton Hall rounded out the 10-team field.
CAPTAINS OF THE SHIP: Goldsmith joins classmates Mitch Ostrowski and Charlie Constantino as seniors for the 2016 season. Ostrowski received a medical redshirt in 2015 and returns for a fifth season. The fourth senior on the roster is A.R. Smith.
BIG IN THE BIG EAST: Butler returns four players who received postseason BIG EAST honors a season ago. David Goldsmith and goalkeeper Eric Dick earned second team honors, while both Marco Charalambous (unanimous) and Jared Timmer earned All-Newcomer team accolades.
WELCOME TO INDY: The Bulldogs add 11 newcomers to the roster for 2016. The group includes three international standouts in Alex Lehtinen (Finland) and England's Lewis Suddick and Isaac Galliford. Six states are represented among the other eight players, including a pair of transfers in Braden Van Allen (VCU) and Wyatt Scott (Hartwick College).