Box Score

Butler, which has had a knack for late-game heroics throughout the 2017 season, continued that Saturday, overcoming a two-goal deficit to post a 3-2 win over Creighton in Indianapolis. The match was a rematch of the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament championship game.

In the BIG EAST opener for both teams, Butler improves to 5-2 on the season, while Creighton is now 3-3. Both teams were receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll this week. Butler has won the last two meetings in the series after also capturing the 2016 BIG EAST title; the Bluejays were 7-0-1 to start the all-time series.

Sophomore Alex Lehtinen headed in the game-winner off a corner kick from Lewis Suddick. Lehtinen took the long ball about seven yards from the frame and headed the ball into the upper right 90 to give Butler a thrilling win. The first goal of Lehtinen's Butler career came in the 93^rd minute.

Down 2-0, it was Brandon Guhl who got the Bulldogs back in the match with a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation. In the 77^th minute, freshman Joel Harvey played a ball through to Guhl, who scored from the left side. Four minutes later, Isaac Galliford sent a long ball from behind the midfield stripe. The high-bouncing ball forced Creighton keeper Michael Kluver out, but he got there late and Guhl was able to chip a shot over his head for the tying score.

Butler had an early series of three quick shots on a single possession, but Kluver was able to turn away the initial shot from Galliford and then the Creighton defense was able to block two rebounded shots before clearing the ball. Butler had a similar sequence in the 31^st minute but couldn't find the net.

Creighton's first goal came after the first Butler surge, as a miscommunication and bad touch to begin a Bulldogs free kick pushed the ball to Kuba Polat, who found Ricky Lopez-Espin for a breakaway goal in the fifth minute. Lopez-Espin scored the second goal of the match in the 65^th minute, orchestrating a nice give and go with Lucas Stauffer.

Guhl now has six goals on the season, while Suddick picked up his team-leading fourth assist of the season.

All seven of Butler's matches have been one-goal games, and the Bulldogs are now 3-0 in overtime contests this season. Butler had a similar comeback against South Florida Sept. 1, turning a 2-1 deficit in the final minutes of regulation into a 3-2 overtime win.

Eric Dick made five saves in the win; Kluver made five for CU.

Each team took 14 shots in the match as Lehtinen's shot and the Butler corner kick were the only ones in overtime. Creighton committed 25 fouls to 13 for Butler. The match featured six yellow cards.

Saturday's result concludes an exciting weekend for the Bulldogs, which also saw the program's first NCAA Tournament team – the 1995 Bulldogs – inducted into the Butler Athletics Hall of Fame Friday night.

The Bulldogs have a week off before continuing BIG EAST play Saturday (Sept. 23) at Providence. The Friars were the preseason pick to win the BIG EAST by the league's head coaches. The 7 p.m. match is slated to air on the BIG EAST Digital Network as part of the Fox Sports Go app.