VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Butler men's soccer team dominated possession and shots in a BIG EAST match at Villanova but came away with an 0-1 loss. The Bulldogs (3-4-1, 1-1-0 BIG EAST) created 25 shots, but only four were on target, and none made it past the keeper. The Wildcats (6-2-0, 2-0-0) managed only seven shots but put four on frame, and one in, taking the three points for the victory.

Key Moments

·   20' | A hard cross in front of Villanova's goal gives Jack Streberger a chance for a header goal, but the shot sails over the crossbar.

·   24' | A charging Wilmer Cabrera, Jr. strikes from 20 yards out, and the Wildcats' keeper dives left to make a low save in the right corner.

·   28' | DJ Hooks drives a shot from inside the area. Villanova's keeper extends to make a save in the upper left corner.

·   33' | DJ Hooks gets a good look from 20 yards and forces a diving save by the Wildcats in the lower left corner.

·   39' | Louie Bulger takes a pass as he charges the goal, and a low shot on target is deflected out for a corner kick.

·   43' | A hard shot from just inside the box by Cabrera, Jr. is headed away by a Wildcats defender.

HALFTIME

·   47' | A Butler foul allows a Villanova free kick to be sent toward the goal, but it is punched out. The resulting Wildcats corner kick was taken from the air by Gabriel Gjergji.

·   61' | A Butler foul, just outside penalty area, on the right side, leads to a Villanova free kick. The cross is headed away, but a resulting Villanova shot requires a save by Gjergji.

·   81' | Villanova's Jorge Garcia makes a short pass, just outside of the area, to Seidu Shamsudeen. Shamsudeen hits a low left-footed drive to the lower left corner. A diving Gjergji is unable to get a hand on it, and the Wildcats take control late, 1-0.

Butler Points Summary
GOALS: (none)
ASSISTS: (none)

Bulldog Bits

·   Butler outshot Villanova 19-3 in the first half and 25-7 for the match. Both teams had four shots on goal.

·   DJ Hooks led the Bulldogs with seven shots, three of which were on goal. Jack Streberger had five shots, and Wilmer Cabrera, Jr. had 4. Nine Bulldogs total took at least one shot.

·   Goalkeeper Gabriel Gjergji (3-4-1) made three saves in the match.

·   Butler produced eight corner kicks compared to four for Villanova.

·   For the second consecutive match, the Bulldogs were without the services of All-BIG EAST defender Rhys Myers, Hemi Nasser, and Nick Okoro due to injury and non-COVID illness.

Up Next
Butler travels to Huntington, W.V., to play spring 2021 National Champion, and current No. 5 Marshall on Wednesday, September 29, at 5 pm. Later in the week, the Bulldogs return to Indianapolis to host Seton Hall.