Ben Sippola Signs With Columbus Crew

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Butler senior men’s soccer standout Ben Sippola has agreed to terms to play with the Columbus Crew.  Sippola was a second round pick (No. 30 overall) of the Crew in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft.

Sippola, who helped lead the Bulldogs to a 16-1-3 season, Horizon League regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2010, became the first player in Butler men’s soccer history to earn both first team All-America and first team Academic All-America honors in the same season!  He also was named the Horizon League Player of the Year, the League’s Offensive Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player of the 2010 Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship.  He was named first team All-Horizon League and was selected to first team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region.

The Butler midfielder led the Horizon League in assists (9) and finished second in the league in points (25).  He ranked third in the league in goals (8).  He finished his four seasons at Butler with 14 career goals and 14 career assists.

Sippola is the sixth Butler player to be chosen by MLS squads, following Casey Sweeney (Tampa Bay Mutiny, 1996; Kansas City Wizards, 2000) Jeremy Aldrich (Miami Fusion, 1999), Stephen Armstrong (D. C. United, 2000), Michael Mariscalco (Dallas Burn, 2003) and John Mariscalco (Colorado Rapids, 2006, free agent).