#8 Bulldogs Face Challenging Road Slate
ROAD WORK: Butler faces its final two
regular season road tests of the 2010 campaign and both present a
major challenge. The Bulldogs, ranked eighth in this
week’s National Soccer Coaches of America Association poll,
will journey to Bloomington on Wednesday, Oct. 27, for a 7 p.m.
(ET) match against No. 25 Indiana. The Hoosiers (8-4-2) are
leading the Big Ten and are 6-1-2 in their last nine matches.
Butler defeated Indiana, 2-1 in double overtime, in the regular
season last year, but then fell to the Hoosiers, 1-0, in the NCAA
Tournament. Both matches were played at Indiana’s
Armstrong Stadium. Following the non-league match at Indiana,
Butler will travel to Detroit for a key Horizon League match on
Saturday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m. The Titans (6-6-2, 4-2 Horizon
League) are one of two teams tied for second in the league behind
Butler. The Bulldogs need a win or a tie in their final two
league matches to clinch their second consecutive Horizon League
regular season title.
Butler is one of three unbeaten teams in the NCAA Division
I. The Bulldogs are tied for first (with Akron) in Division I
in won-lost-tied percentage (.964).
MIXED RESULTS: The Bulldogs suffered the
first blemish to their 2010 record with a 0-0 tie in
double-overtime in a non-league match at home against IUPUI.
Butler had a commanding, 26-6, advantage in shots in the match,
including eight shots on goal, but still came up empty. The
decision ended the Bulldogs’ school-record, 12-match winning
streak. Four days later, Butler bounced back with a 2-1
Horizon League victory over Loyola at the Butler Bowl. The
Bulldogs took a 2-0 advantage midway through the second half,
before surrendering a goal in the 71st minute. The win was
the 13th of the season for the Bulldogs, matching the fifth-highest
single season victory total in school history.
POLLING PLACE: Butler continues to be ranked
in the “Top 20” in the national soccer polls, with
several “Top 10” rankings. The Bulldogs are
ranked #10 by both Soccer Times and College Soccer News and No. 17
in the Top Drawer Soccer Tournament 48 poll. Goal.com lists
Butler at #6. The Bulldogs are ranked third in the Great
Lakes Region, behind the nation’s top two teams, Akron and
Louisville.
FINAL DEFENSE: Goalkeeper Fabian
Knopfler allowed one goal in two matches last week and
picked up his 16th career shutout in the Bulldogs’ 0-0 match
against IUPUI. He improved to 12-0-1 on the season with a
Horizon League-leading 0.52 goals against average. Knopfler
currently ranks eighth in the NCAA Division I in goals against
average, and he’s 38th in the nation in save percentage
(.811). He leads the Horizon League in shutouts with six.
Fabian Knopfler ranks second on Butler’s all-time list
for shutouts.
TIME CHANGE: The starting time for
Butler’s final home game against Cleveland State on Friday,
Nov. 5, has been moved from 3 p.m. (ET) to 10 a.m. (ET) to
accommodate the Horizon League Women’s Soccer
Championship. Butler’s women clinched the top seed in
the tournament and the right to host the event on Nov. 5 &
7. Women’s tournament matches will be played at 1 p.m.
and 3:30 p.m.
BULLDOG BITS: Butler continues to lead the
Horizon League in goals scored with 32. The Bulldogs are
ranked tenth in the NCAA Division I in scoring offense
(2.29)...Butler ranks seventh in Division I in goals against
average (0.48)...Senior Kyle Pateros and freshman Austin Oldham
each had a goal and an assist in Butler’ victory over
Loyola.
