Bulldogs Win Soccer Exhibition

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- It took an additional day because of a lightening strike, but the delay didn’t affect Butler’s offensive power and the Bulldogs prevailed over visiting St. Louis, 4-2, in a spring soccer match at the Butler Bowl on Sunday, April 15.  It was the first of three matches for the Bulldogs this week.

The match with St. Louis, originally scheduled for Saturday night, had to be postponed because of weather issues and a power outage on Butler’s campus.  Lightening during a Saturday thunderstorm struck a Butler power plant, knocking out power to much of the campus.

When the two teams finally met at the Butler Bowl on Sunday morning, it was the Bulldogs who provided the early energy.

Freshman Zach Steinberger (right) and newcomer Nico Oliverio each scored a first half goal, and the Bulldogs took a 2-0 advantage to the locker room at halftime.

“With all the weather problems and the power outage on campus last night, it was great to finally kickoff under blue skies,” said Butler head coach Paul Snape after the match.  “We played a very good first half, and we were full of confidence going into the second half.”

That confidence was on display early in the final period when Steinberger scored his second goal to make it 3-0.  But St. Louis stormed back with a pair of goals to cut Butler’s margin to a single tally, before Oliverio scored for a second time to provide the final margin.

“We started the second half strongly and scored another fantastic goal, but then we lost our focus and intensity,” noted Snape.  “I think we felt it was going to be an easy second half, but St. Louis fought back and capitalized on our defensive mistakes.  We lost the game for about 20 minutes, and it nearly cost us dearly.  It wasn’t until we scored another magnificent goal that we regained control of the game.”

“Overall, it was a positive performance, but if we learned something today it was that we need to play for the entire ninety minutes,” added Snape.  “We look forward to two good games next week against Michigan State and Indianapolis.”

The Bulldogs will play Michigan State in Fort Wayne on Friday, April 20, evening and then return to the Butler Bowl to host Indianapolis on Sunday, April 22, at 2 p.m.