Bulldogs Close 2006 Season Saturday at Quinnipiac

April 28, 2006

THE FACE-OFF: Butler (4-9) concludes its 2006 schedule with a Great Western Lacrosse League contest Saturday at Quinnipiac. The game in Hamden, Conn., is set for a 1 p.m. face-off. The Bobcats, in their first season as a member of the GWLL, enter the game with an overall record of 6-5 and 0-3 mark in GWLL play. Butler picked up its first conference win of 2006 with a victory over Air Force Friday.

AROUND THE GWLL: Denver clinched the 2006 Great Western Lacrosse League title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with a pair of league wins last weekend, now standing at 4-0 in the league. Ohio State (3-1), Air Force (2-2), Notre Dame (1-2), Butler (1-3) and Quinnipiac (0-3) round out the standings.

SENIOR SEND-OFF: Sunday's game against Denver was the final home contest for Butler's eight seniors. Captains Phil Brauch, Steve Forsythe and Gary Gambarani, along with Chase Cannon, Ryan Carter, Danny Harper, Doug Mathias and Dan McLoughlin, were honored in a pre-game ceremony.

LAST WEEKEND: Sophomore Cliff Smith and junior Pat Hurto combined for seven goals, as Butler sped past visiting Air Force, 11-7, Friday afternoon at the Butler Bowl in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs got out to a 6-2 halftime advantage and held off the Falcons in the second half. Freshman Kyle Harer picked up his first Butler win between the pipes, going the distance and making 10 saves.

Behind a strong second-half effort, No. 15 Denver was able to pull away from a feisty Butler squad for an 11-5 win at the Butler Bowl in Indianapolis Sunday afternoon. Smith led the Butler effort with three goals. With Denver leading 6-5 in the closing minutes of the third period, the Pioneers' Billy McKinney was called for an illegal body check, which sent the senior to the penalty area for a minute. With Butler looking to tie things up, Denver's Jon Paulson instead scored back-to-back man-down goals to extend DU's lead to 8-5. Denver held Butler scoreless over the last 20:52 of the game and out-scored the home team, 7-1, in the second half.

CLIFFHANGER: Sophomore Cliff Smith has picked up right where he left off during his rookie campaign. The team's top returning scorer from a year ago (18 goals, eight assists in 2005) is once again leading the Butler attack. His 27 goals and 32 points are tops for the Bulldogs in 2006. Smith has scored at least one goal in 12 of the team's 13 games this season and found the net more than once on eight occasions, including six hat tricks.

ROOKIE ON A ROLL: Freshman Jeremy Sieverts has stepped right into the Butler line-up and found the net often. Sieverts' 14 goals and 21 points both rank second on the team.

PICK IT UP: Senior Phil Brauch leads the team with 53 ground balls. He is followed closely on the team by juniors Carlos Navarro (51) and Brendan Flanagan (49).

A LOOK AT THE BOBCATS: Quinnipiac is 6-5 on the season with all six wins coming at home. The team has dropped all three of its GWLL contests. Senior Eric Trama has been a consistent scoring force for the Bobcats. He has scored at least one point in each game, and, thanks to 16 points in the past six games, has moved into the team lead in points. For the season, he now has 31 points (21 goals, 10 assists).

THE SERIES: Butler and Quinnipiac have split two previous meetings. The Bobcats took a 10-7 win on a neutral field in 2002 before the Bulldogs rebounded to win, 12-4, in Indianapolis in 2003.

BUTLER COACH Stan Ross: Ross enters his second season on the Butler sidelines after an impressive inaugural campaign that saw a win over No. 16 and Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) champion Fairfield and four Bulldogs earn postseason honors. Ross was named the third head coach in Butler lacrosse history June 16, 2004, arriving in Indianapolis after serving as Towson's top assistant and defensive coordinator for six seasons. He carries a 9-16 career record into today's contest.

QUICK SHOTS: Junior newcomer Adam Wade is third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 18 points. He recorded his first Butler hat trick April 14 at Ohio State. Wade, Cliff Smith and Jeremy Sieverts have all recorded hat tricks this season, joining junior Pat Hurto, who picked up his first career hat trick in Friday's win over Air Force.