BIG EAST play continues for the Butler women's soccer team this week, as the Bulldogs take on DePaul and Villanova.

Butler (6-3-1) will face the Blue Demons on Thursday (October 3) in Chicago, with a 3 PM CT kick-off.  The Bulldogs will return home for a Sunday match with the Wildcats. Start time is set for 1 PM ET on October 6. 

Bulldog Bits                                                                                                                

• Amanda Kowalski earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week after a 3-0 win at Seton Hall.
• Bulldogs keeper Stephanie Rodriguez recorded her fourth shutout of the year with the conference win.
• Anja Savich led the team with 10 shots against the Pirates, which ties her for eighth all-time in Butler's record book for single-game shots. 
• Katie Soderstrom recorded her fourth goal of the season in Sunday's match.
• Soderstrom is fourth in the BIG EAST with 15 points.
• Soderstrom is the only player in the BIG EAST with multiple two assist games.
• The Bulldogs are second in the BIG EAST in shots (158), points (64), goals (21), goals per game (2.10), assists (22) and assists per game (2.20).
• The Bulldogs also rank second in the conference in corners (68), recording 15 in the Seton Hall match.

Bulldogs Recap                                                                           
Butler opened conference play in style as a trio of Bulldogs scored a goal in the 3-0 shutout at Seton Hall.

Macy Miller drilled the first and ultimately game-winning goal for the Bulldogs in the third minute of play. Soderstrom followed up with an early second period goal in the 48th minute off a pass from Savich.

Later, Kowalski teamed up with Payton Black to deliver the third and final Bulldogs goal.

Blue Demons Report                                                                                               
The DePaul Blue Demons sit at 3-5-2 (0-1-0) after a 2-0 loss to Creighton during opening week for BIG EAST play,

The Blue Demons rely on Krisin Boos to work the offense, as she leads the team in assists and shares the team lead in points with teammate Morgan Turner. Boos is ranked third in the BIG EAST in shots (37), just one strike behind Butler's Savich.

Morgan Turner leads the Blue Demons with three goals, with Boos right behind her with two.

DePaul and Butler have faced one similar opponent in Milwaukee.  The Blue Demons fell by a score of 1-2 to the Panthers.

In the 2018 match up between Butler and DePaul, the Bulldogs took the 2-1 win, with Soderstrom scoring the game-winning goal in the 88th minute. 

 DePaul went 8-6-5 (4-3-2) last season, ultimately falling by way of penalty kicks to Xavier in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament.

Wildcats Report                             
The Villanova Wildcats opened BIG EAST play with a 1-0 shutout over Xavier. The Wildcats enter the week at 5-3-2, and will host No. 12 Georgetown before Sunday's match up in Indianapolis.

Brice McInroy leads the Wildcats with five goals and 11 points this season. Chloee O'Neil adds an offensive spark to the team, with four assists and one goal so far. She also leads the team with 19 shots.

Villanova is utilizing two goalkeepers in Hensley Hancuff (3-1-1) and Rebecca Garter (2-2-1). McInroy and Garter each earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll following opening week.

The Wildcats 2018 season ended in a 1-2 loss to the Bulldogs in the last week of regular season play, keeping Villanova out of the conference tournament. 

BIG EAST Honors                                                                                                        
Kowalski earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors for her all-around efforts against the Pirates. As part of the back-line, Kowalski helped limit Seton Hall to just nine shots and only two on frame.

At the other end of the field, she added an assist on the final goal of the game and took two shots in the match.

Butler has received a mention in every BIG EAST weekly awards so far this season, with two offensive, two defensive and four honor roll selections.