The Bulldogs travel out west this weekend to face the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday night. The match is set to kick off at 10 p.m. (Eastern). UC-Santa Barbara is 2-2 on the year, having dropped recent outings on the road to nationally-ranked Portland and Seattle. The game will be broadcast live on BigWest.TV with live stats also available. Both links are on the men's soccer schedule page on butlersports.com.

CLOSE CALL: Butler enters this weekend's matchup following a 2-1 loss at home to Columbia. Early in the second half, junior Derek Sutton scored his first career goal to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Columbia battled back and tied the match in the 65^th minute. Regulation time wasn't enough as the game went into not one, but two overtimes. This was when Columbia was awarded a penalty kick and converted it for the win.

DAWGS VS. GAUCHOS: Butler won the only previous meeting between the two programs, topping UC-Santa Barbara, 4-2, in 2016. That was a Top 20 matchup as the Bulldogs were ranked No. 19 and the Gauchos were ranked No. 7. Some familiar faces played a key role is this match. Jared Timmer, then a sophomore, had an assist in the match. Graduate assistant David Goldsmith scored two goals to key the Bulldogs. The match was part of the University of Akron Tournament in Ohio.

IN THE POLLS: The Bulldogs are now ranked No. 19 in the College Soccer News poll. Butler is also receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

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

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 was also named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll following his two-goal performance in the win against No. 16 Western Michigan. The BIG EAST office announced the weekly honors on Monday, Sep. 3.

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: Butler will open BIG EAST play Saturday, Sept. 16 at Creighton. Creighton is currently receiving votes in the national poll. The match will begin at 8 p.m. (Eastern) in Omaha, Neb. The live broadcast will be provided by BEDN and live stats will also be available. Both links can be found on the men's soccer schedule page on Butlersports.com.