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A FEW DAYS IN AKRON: The Bulldogs travel to Ohio to take part in the four-team University of Akron Tournament. Butler will play Friday afternoon against UC-Santa Barbara and then turn around to face Oregon State Sunday. The Bulldogs will not face tournament host Akron in the event. Live stats for both of Butler's matches will be available.

IN THE RANKINGS: The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) released their national rankings on Tuesday and Butler has climbed to #19 after receiving votes in the first poll of the season. The Bulldogs also come in at #23 in the College Soccer News national poll (released Monday, Sept. 5). Butler and Creighton are the only BIG EAST teams to be ranked this week.

ON THE HORIZON: The Bulldogs are still set to meet four teams ranked in this week's NSCAA poll: Indiana (#4), UC-Santa Barbara (#7), Denver (#11), and Creighton (#14). Louisville, which Butler tied in the season opener, is receiving votes and just outside the Top 25. Oregon State also received votes in this week's poll.  

LAST MEN STANDING: Of the 10 BIG EAST teams, only one has yet to record a loss: Butler. Five BIG EAST teams have one loss, three teams have two losses, and one has four. (Loss totals through matches played Monday, Sept. 5). 

LAST TIME OUT: Butler continued its strong start to the 2016 season by blanking SIUE, 2-0, Saturday evening at the Butler Bowl in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs dominated possession in the contest, out-shooting the visiting Cougars, 18-7. The result avenged a loss to SIUE midway through the 2015 season.

FIRST OF MANY: Freshman Isaac Galliford scored the first goal of his Butler career Saturday against SIUE, collecting a blocked shot and putting it by the Cougars keeper. Galliford also had a match-high six shots.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: Isaac Galliford (six), Marco Charalambous (five) and David Goldsmith (four) accounted for 15 of Butler's 18 shots against SIUE. Charalambous added a goal in the 89th minute of the match for the final 2-0 score.

LAST LINE OF DEFENSE: Goalkeeper Eric Dick has orchestrated shutouts in two of Butler's three matches thus far this season, posting a 0.62 goals against average. He has 12 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.

NOT A BAD HOME DEBUT: Freshman Lewis Suddick scored three goals, posting a hat trick in just his second Butler match (Aug. 30) and leading the Bulldogs to a 4-2 win against IUPUI at the Butler Bowl. Suddick assisted on the fourth goal. For his efforts, Suddick earned a spot on the BIG EAST's five-player Weekly Honor Roll.

A TALE OF TWO 45s: The Bulldogs out-shot IUPUI, 22-7, in their home opener Aug. 30, including a 16-1 advantage in the second 45 minutes. Senior David Goldsmith had a game-high six shots.

BIG WEEK: The BIG EAST Conference announced their first 2016 recipients of their weekly men's soccer awards Aug. 29…and Bulldogs took two of the four honors. Redshirt junior Eric Dick was named Goalkeeper of the Week, while Isaac Galliford earned Freshman of the Week honors.

110 STRONG MINUTES: On a hot and humid night in Louisville, Ky., Butler and the host Cardinals played to a 0-0 draw in the 2016 regular season opener for both teams. Louisville had 23 shots and 11 corner kicks in the match.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: Butler's 2016 roster includes seven players from overseas. All seven have started at least two of the three matches, with six getting the nod in all seven contests. 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).

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.

NATIONALLY RENOWNED: Despite missing four matches due to injury last season, David Goldsmith finished third nationally in goals per game. The senior also ranks among the nation's active leaders in several career statistics: fourth in goals (29), sixth in goals per game (0.54), tied for eighth in points (64) and sixth in points per game (1.19).

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).

NO REST: Eric 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, as his GAA improved to 0.56, which was second in the conference. He posted a career-high 12 saves in the team's match at Georgetown, which was the highest total in the BIG EAST last season.