Two Butler Men’s Soccer Players Earn PDL Honor

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Butler men’s soccer players Ben Sippola and Matt Hedges are off to a strong start in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League.  The two Bulldogs each were named to the first PDL Team of the Week, announced on Wednesday (May 12).

Sippola, who will be a senior at Butler next fall, was named to the 11-player Team of the Week after scoring a goal as a starting defender for the Rochester Thunder (1-0-1).  He played 180 minutes in the team’s first two matches.

Hedges, who will enter his junior season at Butler, earned honorable mention on the Team of the Week.  He played the entire 90 minutes and scored a goal to help Reading United defeat Hampton Roads, 5-0, in his team’s season-opener.

Sippola and Hedges helped Butler to a 14-3-2 season and a championship in the Horizon League last fall.  The win total tied the fourth-highest in school history, and the Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in school history.  Hedges was named first team All-Horizon League, while Sippola earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.

The Premier Development League includes nearly 70 teams playing a summer schedule nationwide, May-July.