The Bulldogs travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., for another match-up of ranked teams. Butler, currently No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, will meet No. 16 Western Michigan Thursday at 5 p.m. WMU is offering live stats for the contest.

LOOKING FOR #1: Butler is 0-1-1 on the young season, pushing No. 4 Akron to a 2-2 (2OT) tie on the opening night of the season, followed by a 2-1 loss to Drake Monday night in the team's home opener. Western Michigan enters the match-up with a 1-1 mark with the loss coming to DePaul of the BIG EAST.

FRESH FACES: Six true freshmen have already started matches in 2018. Keeper Gabriel Gjergji, defender Louie Bulger and forward Eric Conerty have started both matches this season, while Jack Haywood, Griffin DeBolt and Logan Lee have gotten the call in one of the team's matches.

OUT OF THE GATES: Freshmen have also accounted for two of the team's three goals on the young season as Bulger scored the first goal of the season at Akron, while newcomer Eric Hollenkamp found the net against Drake. Hollenkamp is the seventh true freshman to see minutes for Butler already this season.

EARLY ACCOLADES: Butler junior Brandon Guhl was selected as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Bulldogs to an impressive result at No. 4 Akron in the season opener. The BIG EAST office announced the weekly honors on Monday, Aug. 27.
 
Guhl's goal in the 60^th minute Friday night proved to be the equalizer as Butler and No. 4-ranked Akron played to a 2-2 tie in a Top 10 match-up. Guhl's tally came off an assist from teammate Alex Lehtinen. Guhl, who was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in a vote of the conference's head coaches, had two shots in the contest.

DAWGS VS. BRONCOS: Western Michigan posted a 3-2 victory over the Bulldogs one year ago in Indianapolis (Sept. 8, 2017). Brandon Guhl had one of the two goals for the Bulldogs. Butler owns a 1-2 record in the all-time series with the Broncos, which includes a 2-1 win in 2013.

IN THE POLLS: In addition to the No. 11 ranking in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, the Bulldogs climbed to No. 9 in both the Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News polls released Monday.

A YEAR AGO: The Bulldogs went 14-5-2 in 2017, winning the BIG EAST regular season title and advancing to the NCAA Round of 16. That performance matched the Bulldogs' best postseason finish (Round of 16) in program history.

BACK FOR MORE: Coach Paul Snape returns seven starters from a season ago. The team will also welcome back midfielders Jared Timmer and Marco Charalambous, who each missed the 2017 season due to injury.

NOT KIDDING AROUND: The Bulldogs have put together a challenging schedule for the upcoming season as the Bulldogs will face four teams ranked in the preseason Top 25: Indiana (No. 2), Akron (No. 4), BIG EAST rival Georgetown (No. 13), and Western Michigan (No. 14). Columbia, Creighton and Xavier also received votes in the preseason poll.

PRESEASON HONORS: Three Bulldogs picked up preseason BIG EAST accolades as senior Joe Moulden and juniors Brandon Guhl and Jared Timmer were selected to the preseason All-BIG EAST squad. Guhl was also named the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

ACCORDING TO THE COACHES: Butler has been picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll. The conference's head coaches voted in the preseason poll. Georgetown, which finished second to the Bulldogs in the 2017 regular season but won the BIG EAST Tournament, was picked to win the conference. The Hoyas received seven first-place votes from the coaches, while Butler picked up the remaining three nods.

BIG YEAR AHEAD: Junior Brandon Guhl is a popular guy in terms of preseason honors and watch lists. Guhl is on the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. He was also selected to Top Drawer Soccer Men's Preseason Best XI Team (Third Team) and No. 31 on the TDS Preseason National College Soccer Players list, as well as being named to the College Soccer News 2018 Preseason All-America First Team.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs return home to host Columbia for a Labor Day afternoon match-up. Kick-off on Monday is set for 1 p.m. The match will be streamed live on the Butler Bulldogs Facebook page.