The Butler women's soccer team will close out the non-conference home schedule with two matches at the Sellick Bowl this week.

The Bulldogs will take on Illinois on Thursday (September 12) at 5 PM as part of a double-header with the men's soccer team.  The women's team will then host Kent State on Sunday (September 15) at 1 PM.

Bulldog Bits:

• Butler went 1-1 last week, claiming a 3-0 win over Michigan State at home and falling 3-2 to Milwaukee on the road.
• Amanda Kowalski earned BIG EAST Honor Roll after helping the defense post a shutout against the Spartans, and tallying a goal and an assist in the Milwaukee game. 
• Anja Savich scored her third and fourth goals of the season, one in each game. She ranks third in the BIG EAST in total goals (4).
• Katie Soderstrom leads the BIG EAST in assists (6) and assists per game (1.00), and is tied for first nationally in total assists. She is also in the top five in conference for goals (3), goals per game (0.50), points (12), and points per game (2.00).
• The Bulldogs lead the BIG EAST in shots, points, goals, goals per game, assists, and assists per game.
• Butler enters this week 4-2-0 overall, 2-0 at home. Since their last loss at the Sellick Bowl in October of 2016, the Bulldogs are 22-0-2 on home turf.

The Illini
The Illinois Illini enter Thursday's match 4-1-0, with their only loss coming on the road against University of San Francisco. The Illini have recorded wins over Loyola, Dayton, Illinois State and previous No. 22 Pepperdine.

The Illini have six players with at least one goal this season. Junior Hope Breslin and senior Arianna Veland lead the team with three goals each.

The Illini went 11-8-1 in a 2018 schedule that featured several ranked teams. Illinois' season came to an end in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, after a 1-0 loss to Penn State.

The Illini lead the series against the Bulldogs, 2-0-0.  The last meeting between the teams came in 2003, when Illinois took the 1-0 victory.

The Golden Flashes
The Golden Flashes are 1-3-1 to start 2019, and are 0-2-0 on the road so far.  Opponents have held the Golden Flashes to just two goals this season, both of which have been scored by Karly Hellstrom and assisted by Cameron Shedenhelm. 

In 2018, Kent State went 10-8-2, falling in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament to Ohio.

The series history between the two teams is all tied up at 1-1-1.  The most recent meeting of the teams was the Bulldogs season opener in 2018, where Butler took the 3-1 win.

Special Game Days
The Thursday night soccer double-header is Youth Soccer Night. Kids will receive free admission when wearing their soccer jersey.

Sunday's match-up against Kent State is Senior Day for the Bulldogs. Butler will honor six seniors: Carly Goehring, Macy Miller, Taylor Reid, Lauren Ronnfeldt, Annika Schmidt, and Alyssa Yarosz