Game Notes (PDF)

As the regular season winds down, Butler takes its 5-1 BIG EAST record to Seton Hall Wednesday night. The match-up will begin at 7 p.m. and will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network, part of the FOX Sports Go app.
 
With a win, Butler would not only clinch a spot in the six-team BIG EAST Tournament, but the Bulldogs would also guarantee hosting their first tournament match, either in the quarterfinals or semifinals. With a tie, Butler would clinch a spot in the tournament field. As early as Wednesday night, Butler could also clinch a top-2 spot and a bye into the semifinals with a win and St. John's and Xavier each not winning their respective Wednesday matches.

Butler enters the match with a 9-4-1 overall record and has posted three consecutive shutouts. The Bulldogs have now held their opponents scoreless for the last 319:50 of game action, dating back to the Oct. 10 loss to SIUE.

Those three shutouts include a 1-0 win over BIG EAST foe Villanova Saturday night and a 0-0 tie against No. 1 Indiana on Wednesday night. That in-state match was played in front of 6,105 fans, the largest crowd in Butler men's soccer history and the biggest gathering since the Sellick Bowl was renovated in 2010. The previous record was 5,029 for the 2013 match against Indiana.

The Bulldogs' BIG EAST mark is tied with Georgetown atop the conference standings. Butler has posted shutouts in four of its six BIG EAST matches with Eric Dick in goal for each of those contests.

The double-overtime result against the top-ranked Hoosiers was the Bulldogs' first tie of the season as they had previously won all four of their overtime contests. It was the fifth straight match-up between the in-state rivals to go to overtime.

For his role in last week's shutouts, senior captain Eric Leonard was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week. The midfielder moved to the back line for the Indiana match as the Bulldogs were forced to play without center back Joe Moulden, who had accumulated five yellow cards. Entering that match, Moulden was the only Bulldog to play every minute this season. Leonard stayed in the back line against Villanova, this time playing alongside Moulden in the middle as Kieran Geldenhuys moved out wide. Butler faced only a combined 15 shots in the week's contests against Indiana and Villanova. Geldenhuys earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week for his work in the week of shutouts.

Butler is 5-1-1 at the Sellick Bowl in 2017. Butler will look to reverse a 1-3 road record this season as they travel to Seton Hall.

Butler and Seton Hall will meet for just the fifth time in series history with Butler holding a 3-0-1 record and not allowing a goal to the Pirates. The Bulldogs won 3-0 on the road in 2015 and 2-0 at Seton Hall in 2013. In the 2016 meeting in Indianapolis, Leonard netted the only goal of the game, which came in the 22^nd minute.
 
The Bulldogs are ranked No. 15 overall in the RPI rankings released by the NCAA Monday, Oct. 23. Butler has wins over four top-100 RPI opponents already this season (in addition to the tie against No. 1 Indiana): Creighton (No. 37), South Florida (No. 39), Villanova (No. 70), and St. John's (No. 92). Upcoming opponents include Xavier (No. 55). Butler's four losses on the season include Western Michigan (No. 6 in the RPI), Louisville (No. 10), and Georgetown (No. 11).
 
The Bulldogs are ranked No. 21 in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, as well as No. 12 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll, No. 20 by College Soccer News, and No. 23 in the Soccer America rankings.
 
Dick has orchestrated shutouts in seven matches this season, including four of the team's six BIG EAST matches. For his efforts, Dick was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday, Oct. 16. He has earned the honor in four of the nine weeks this season. Dick earned a spot on the BIG EAST's weekly honor roll Monday, Oct. 23, missing out on the Goalkeeper of the Week honor despite pitching a shutout.
 
Dick has 26 career shutouts. He has a 0.89 goals against average. His 3.92 saves per game are second in the BIG EAST. His .810 save percentage is third in the conference. He is one of two BIG EAST keepers with seven shutouts this season.
 
Butler's Brandon Guhl scored both goals in the win over DePaul Oct. 14, giving him a BIG EAST-best nine on the season. Those nine goals and 20 points are tied for the BIG EAST lead and are in the Top 35 nationally. These are the first collegiate goals for the sophomore transfer from SMU. His nine goals have come on only 23 shots this season.
 
Lewis Suddick has five assists on the season, which are fifth in the BIG EAST. Including an assist on Guhl's second goal of the DePaul match, Isaac Galliford has four assists on the season. Suddick was named the No. 84 player nationally in a midseason list authored by Top Drawer Soccer.
 
With the two goals against Creighton (in addition to an assist on Joel Harvey's game-winner earlier in the week in the 1-0 win over Evansville), Guhl was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and earned spots on the national teams of the week for College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer Sept. 18. Guhl joined Jared Timmer (Aug. 28) and Suddick (Sept. 4) as Butler players have been selected for the conference's offensive weekly award. Additionally, Dick has earned weekly goalkeeper honors four times.
 
Butler's eight wins have featured six different Bulldogs with the game-winner (Suddick – three times, Guhl - twice, Lehtinen, Harvey, Timmer, and Kieran Geldenhuys). Butler's 18 goals on the season include nine from Guhl, six game-winners from those other Bulldogs, as well as a goal from Isaac Galliford and an additional two goals from Suddick.
 
Geldenhuys and Leonard are the only Bulldogs to start all 14 matches for the Bulldogs. Both Leonard and Geldenhuys have played all but five minutes this season. Moulden has played every minute other than being forced to sit out the IU match.
 
Entering the contest with Seton Hall, Snape has a record of 61-44-21. The Butler coaching staff, led by Snape, was named the NSCAA (now referred to as United Soccer Coaches) Great Lakes Region Staff of the Year for Division I institutions in 2016. This honor is a result of a vote by other coaches in the region.
 
The Bulldogs are at Marquette Saturday, Oct. 28. The regular season finale is a home game against Xavier Nov. 1. Both matches will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network.