Butler will host Xavier Saturday at the Sellick Bowl in Indianapolis as BIG EAST play continues this spring. The long-time rivals are set to kick off at 6 p.m.

The match will be streamed live on the Butler Athletics YouTube channel as a student-run production in conjunction with the university's College of Communication.

BIG EAST play for the Bulldogs during the spring 2021 schedule includes a home-and-home series with the four Midwest opponents: DePaul, Xavier, Marquette, and Creighton. Butler is 1-0-1 so far in league play, defeating DePaul and playing to a draw with Marquette.

Saturday's match with Xavier will be Butler's third straight home conference contest.

In their last outing, the Bulldogs played 110 minutes against Marquette with the match ending in a 0-0 (2OT) draw. Butler was in control throughout the game and outshot the Golden Eagles, 21-8. The Bulldogs were stellar across the board but couldn't manage to find the back of the net in the final third. Butler's best chances came in the first half, including a shot from Jack Haywood just outside the box that found the crossbar in the 40^th minute.

Gabriel Gjergji posted his second clean sheet of the season after making four saves in Wednesday's match against the Golden Eagles. Both of his shutouts have come against BIG EAST opponents. Gjergji has not allowed a goal in the last 255 minutes of play.  

This will be the 22^nd meeting between the Bulldogs and Musketeers with Butler holding the all-time series advantage by a 14-6-1 margin. In their last meeting on Nov. 6, 2019, Butler was able to secure the 2-1 win at home. Wilmer Cabrera Jr. had the game-winner in that contest.

Xavier comes to Indianapolis with a record of 3-4, including an 0-2 mark in BIG EAST play. Those two conference losses have come at the hands of Creighton and in overtime to DePaul in Xavier's most recent outing Wednesday. In addition to DePaul, Butler and Xavier also share a common opponent in Saint Louis, which was able to secure the win against both the Bulldogs and Musketeers.  

Cabrera Jr. was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week Monday after netting a hat trick against conference opponent DePaul. This is Cabrera Jr.'s first BIG EAST weekly offensive honor of the 2021 season and the second of his career thus far.

The Bulldogs found their form as they were able to bring down DePaul 5-0 March 3 at the Sellick Bowl. Cabrera Jr. notched his first hat trick in a Butler uniform. Cabrera has assisted on or scored five of the Bulldogs' six goals this season. It's the first three-goal game for a Bulldog since Lewis Suddick netted a trio against IUPUI on Aug. 30, 2016.

The performance was the most goals scored by Butler since a 6-0 win over Richmond during the 2012 season.

Butler was predicted to be the winner of the BIG EAST Midwest Division, which was voted on by the league's head coaches and announced last month. The Bulldogs had two players named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team in sophomore Cabrera Jr. and senior Rhys Myers.

Cabrera Jr. was the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2019, after scoring eight goals and starting in every game. Haywood was All-BIG EAST third-team in 2019 after tying for conference high in assists.

Up next for the Bulldogs is their first road trip of the season as they head to Omaha to take on Creighton. The match is set for Wednesday (2 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Omaha/Central).