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Bulldogs Welcome Xavier to Indianapolis Friday in Home Opener
Sept. 1, 2005 WELCOME TO OUR PLACE: Butler opens the home portion of the 2005 slate with a pair of matches this weekend, hosting Xavier Friday afternoon (4 p.m.) and Eastern Kentucky Saturday at Varsity Field on the Butler campus. The Bulldogs began the season on the road, losing a pair of matches while fighting injuries, but will look to turn things around in Indianapolis. Xavier is 1-1 on the young season, while EKU is 0-1. SERIES RECAPS: The Bulldogs defeated Xavier, 2-0, last season in Cincinnati. Butler owns a 3-5-1 record in the all-time series with the Musketeers. Over the past four seasons, Butler and Xavier have split four matches, ironically with the visiting team winning each time. Seniors Kate Lord and Meredith Buemi each scored a goal in last season's win over Xavier. 2005 is the inaugural season of Eastern Kentucky women's soccer. A LOOK BACK: Butler opened the season by dropping a 2-0 decision at Louisville Friday. The Bulldogs fell just short at Ball State Sunday, as the Cardinals got a second-half goal to break a 2-2 tie. Freshman Jenny Southard and junior Marianne Schilling posted goals for the Bulldogs, while freshman Angie Muir assisted on both tallies. Sophomore transfer Kirby Zwickel got the nod in goal for the Louisville game and junior Megan Cappa went the distance between the pipes against Ball State.
INJURY BUG: Coach Woody Sherwood and the Bulldogs have already faced their share of adversity this season. 2004 "All-Newcomer Team" selection Molly Callon and freshman Lauren Haffner will both miss the 2005 season due to knee injuries sustained in the last month. Sarah Pavlik is not fully recovered from a knee injury suffered in the 2004 regular season opener, but is expected to return sometime in 2005. Sherwood said all three players would have gotten significant playing time this season. Senior Meredith Buemi and freshman Tierney Lanich both suffered injuries against Louisville that kept them out of the Ball State games and will keep them out of this weekend's line-up. Sherwood had just three position players to bring off the bench against the Cardinals on Sunday. In a bit of good news, senior Kate Lord is expected to make her 2005 debut after sitting out last weekend's matches. PRESEASON RESPECT: Horizon League coaches tabbed Butler to finish third in the upcoming women's soccer season, the League office announced last week. Selecting Butler to one of the top three spots was a safe pick for the league's coaches as the Bulldogs have finished at least third in the league standings in every season since 1994. UW-Milwaukee received 47 points in a poll voted on by the League's eight head coaches. The Panthers received five of a possible seven-first place votes. Detroit clinched second place with 45 points and three-first place votes. Butler followed with 35 points. BACK FOR MORE: Butler's 16 returning letterwinners include three members of the 2004 "All-Horizon League" first team in seniors Kate Lord and Meredith Buemi and junior Julie Backscheider. Buemi and Lord have appeared on the league's first or second team in all three of their respective seasons, while Backscheider was on the field for all but 11 minutes of the 2004 campaign. Last season's top scorer Kristin Harnest also returns. FIRST-TIMERS: The most highly-touted recruiting class of head coach Woody Sherwood's Butler tenure arrives for the 2005 campaign. 2004 Indiana Soccer Coaches Association (ISCA) "Player of the Year" and first team "All-State" selection Angie Muir will see substantial time in both the midfield and the defense after a standout prep career at Carmel High School. She's joined in the freshman class by her Carmel teammate Crystal Wright, Indiana All-State selection Jenny Southard (Noblesville, Ind.), Lauren Haffner (Noblesville, Ind.) Tierney Lanich (Medina, Ohio), and Lyndsey Olsen (Algonquin, Ill.). Keeper Kirby Zwickel transfers in from the University of Tennessee. The sophomore played at North Central High School in Indianapolis. THE COACH: Using a laidback demeanor off the field and a fierce competitiveness on it, head coach Woody Sherwood continues to keep the Bulldogs among the Horizon League elite. The 2005 campaign is the seventh for Sherwood at Butler, where his Bulldogs have posted a 55-56-8 record, including an impressive 23-11-1 mark in Horizon League play. In eight seasons as a head coach, Sherwood's teams own a 77-73-10 (.513) mark. UP NEXT: The team begins a three-game trek through the state of Indiana, starting at Indiana State in Terre Haute, Friday, Sept. 9. The Bulldogs then face Purdue (Sept. 13) and Indiana (Sept. 16) in road contests. The next home match for the Bulldogs is Sunday, Sept. 18 when Dayton travels to Varsity Field. QUICK SHOTS: Butler head coach Woody Sherwood is a 1991 graduate of Xavier, where he enjoyed a four-year playing career on the men's team and began his coaching career as a women's assistant...Eastern Kentucky will be the second Bluegrass state opponent of the Bulldogs this season, joining Louisville. Sophomore Ashley Twehues is the only Kentucky native on the Butler roster...This weekend's matches are one of three back-to-back contests for the Bulldogs this season. The team will also play on consecutive days in Hawaii (at Hawaii Sept. 23, vs. Robert Morris Sept. 24) and in Ohio (at Youngstown State Oct. 8, at Cleveland State Oct. 9). |
