Matchday Information – Butler at No. 24 Saint Louis
DATE:                          Thursday, August 24 / 9:30PM (8:30PM CT)
LOCATION:                 Saint Louis, Missouri / Hermann Stadium
VIDEO:                        ESPN+
LIVE STATS:               slubillikens.com
 
Full Notes

The Butler men's soccer team opens its regular season on the road at No. 24 Saint Louis. The Bulldogs are coming off a 10-6-3 (4-3-3 BIG EAST) 2022 season, while the Billikens, out of the Atlantic 10 conference, finished 12-5-3 (6-1-1).

Bulldog Bits

• Palmer Ault was named the 2023 Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. He finished the 2022 season with the following BIG EAST and (national) rankings: game-winning goals-1st (6th), goals-2nd (25th), points-3rd (22nd), assists-6th (98th), .442 shot accuracy-8th, 2.26 shots per game-10th
   
• The Bulldogs' 2023 roster - which features 10 newcomers - includes players from 10 different states. Eight players are from Michigan, and there are three each from both Indiana and Illinois. There is also international representation from four different countries. There are three each from both England and the Netherlands and one each from France and Spain.
   
• Butler's 2023 schedule features five teams who were ranked in the Preseason Top 25 national rankings: No. 24 Saint Louis (8/24), No. 2 Indiana (9/19), No. 17 Georgetown (9/29), No. 8 Creighton (10/7), and No. 22 Akron (10/28).
• In 2022, the Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 12 in the Sept. 4 poll. Butler went 1-2-1 vs. ranked opponents: No. 14 Marshall W, 1-0, No. 15 Indiana L, 1-2, No. 19 Xavier T, 3-3, No. 17 Georgetown L, 1-2 (2OT).

The Matchup

• SERIES RECORD: Saint Louis leads, 5-1-0
• LAST MEETING: Feb. 22, 2021 - Westfield, Ind. - SLU 2, Butler 0
• Butler's only victory in the series came in the first-ever meeting between the programs, in 1990. The Bulldogs won, 2-1, in Saint Louis.

 
Scouting No. 24 Saint Louis

• 2022 Season: Saint Louis finished the season 12-5-3 (6-1-1 Atlantic 10), winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Billikens defeated Memphis, 4-2, in the NCAA Tournament before being knocked out by Indiana, 0-1.
• In 2022, Saint Louis defeated Creighton, 3-2, as well as Marquette, 2-1.
• The Billikens return seven of their top ten offensive threats from their 2022 side.

(2022) Individual Statistics

• (Returning) offensive standouts for Saint Louis include:
  #13 CJ Coppola (6g, 1a)
  #7 Seth Anderson (3g, 5a)
  #11 Mads Stistrup Petersen (3g, 3a)
  #6 Christian Buendia (2g, 3a)
  #14 Grady Easton (2g)
  #5 Max Fioriani (4a)
• (The Billikens' do not return their top two goalkeepers from 2022.)