Butler enters Soccer America's national Top 25

Oct. 4, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Butler University's men's soccer team has raced to an 8-2-0 record thorugh the first half of the season. That fast start was recognized Tuesday (Oct. 3) when the Bulldogs were ranked among the nation's top 25 teams in Soccer America magazine's weekly poll. The ranking is the school's first in either of the two "major" polls (SA or the National Soccer Coaches Association of America) since 1998.

Butler's record includes three consecutive shutout victories, including a 1-0 decision over Ohio State last Wednesday (Sept. 28) which helped supplant then-22nd-ranked OSU from the top 25. That shutout is also part of a 275-minute scoreless streak for Butler's defense as Bulldog junior goalkeeper Frank Peabody is now second in the nation with a 0.25 goals-against average and owns the top save percentage in all of Division I (.943). He has allowed just two goals in 720 minutes of action and the team has out-scored its opponents 14-4 through ten contests.

New Mexico (8-0-0) retained the top spot in both the SA poll and the NSCAA national survey. Akron, the nation's only other undefeated and untied team at 9-0-0, is second on both lists, but the SA top five includes St. John's (5-1-3) third, followed by Duke (7-1-1) and Santa Clara (7-2-0). The NSCAA poll has Old Dominion (7-1-1) and North Carolina (7-1-1) ahead of fifth-ranked St. John's.

Coach Joe Sochacki's Bulldogs also climbed four spots in the NSCAA's Great Lakes Region rankings, appearing among the region's top ten for the fifth consecutive week. The victory over Ohio State and a 4-0 triumph over Cleveland State on Sunday (Oct. 2) lifted Butler to fifth on the regional list, matching the team's highest rating this season. Akron leads the way in the region, followed by defending national champion Indiana (5-1-3), Cincinnati (6-2-2), Notre Dame (6-3-1) and Butler.

Joining the Bulldogs is another Horizon League entry as the University of Detroit Mercy moved in at No. 10 following road wins against League foes University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (1-0 on Friday) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2-1 on Sunday). Detroit's 5-3-2 overall mark includes a 3-1-0 League ledger and puts the Titans into the Great Lakes top ten for the first time in 2005. Michigan (6-3-1) stands sixth in this week's regional poll, followed by Ohio State (6-4-1), Northwestern (6-3-0) and Dayton (5-3-1) while UW-Milwaukee fell out of the top ten after its loss to UDM.

Detroit started the season 0-1-2 and did not score a goal in its first three matches of 2005 but has tallied 12 markers in a 4-2-0 run since Sept. 16. The Titans have won three consecutive matches by one goal apiece.

In the Midwest Region, the University of Illinois at Chicago returned to the top ten after a one-week absence, coming in tied for tenth with a 4-3-1 record. The Flames ended a three-match losing streak with an 8-1 rout of Centenary on Sunday, re-joining a group led by Missouri State (7-0-2). The rest of the regional honor roll features second-ranked Tulsa (3-2-5), followed by Creighton (4-1-3), Northern Illinois (7-2-1) and Southern Methodist (4-4-1) in the top five, followed by Bradley (7-3-0), Vanderbilt (5-4-0), Western Kentucky (6-3-1) and Memphis (4-4-1) while UIC and Oral Roberts share tenth spot with identical records.

The Flames get a chance to move up in the rankings Wednesday (Oct. 5), visiting Creighton in its only match of the week. Butler hosts UW-Green Bay on Friday (Oct. 10) and UW-Milwaukee on Sunday (Oct. 12) in the first matches on the Butler Bowl's new FieldTurf surface, while Detroit is idle until a Sunday contest at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne.

The NSCAA/adidas national rankings are released each Tuesday afternoon and can be found at www.nscaa.com through the "rankings" tab at the top of the page. Soccer America publishes its weekly survey on Mondays at www.socceramerica.com. Links are provided on the "headlines" section on the right side of the page.

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Soccer America National Rankings
October 3, 2005
TeamRecordLW
1.New Mexico8-0-01
2.Akron9-0-04
3.St. John's5-1-36
4.Duke7-1-17
5.Santa Clara7-2-08
6.UCLA6-2-09
7.Old Dominion7-1-110
8.Virginia7-1-114
9.Connecticut7-2-113
10.North Carolina7-1-12
11.Indiana5-1-35
12.North Carolina State7-3-116
13.Maryland7-3-017
14.San Diego State7-0-2NR
15.California7-2-13
16.Wake Forest6-3-111
17.Cincinnati6-2-215
18.Missouri State7-0-220
19.Fairleigh Dickinson7-1-112
20.UC Santa Barbara5-2-121
21.San Diego5-0-224
22.South Florida6-3-025
23.Creighton4-1-318
24.UNC Greensboro6-3-019
25.Butler8-2-0NR

Dropped out: Ohio State (previously No. 22), Washington (No. 23).

NSCAA / adidas Men's National Rankings
October 4, 2005
TeamRecordLW
1.New Mexico8-0-01
2.Akron9-0-04
3.Old Dominoin7-1-16
4.North Carolina7-1-12
5.St. John's5-1-38
6.Virginia7-1-111
7.Santa Clara7-2-012
8.Duke7-1-19
9.Missouri State7-0-0210
10.Connecticut7-2-113
11.Indiana5-1-35
12.UCLA6-2-023
13.Maryland7-3-016
14.Fairleigh Dickinson7-1-17
15.San Diego State7-0-2NR
16.Wake Forest6-3-114
17.Cincinnati6-2-221
18.California7-2-13
19.Lehigh6-1-1NR
20.Buffalo10-1-0NR
20.Towson8-1-0NR
22.North Carolina State7-3-1NR
23.Vermont8-3-0NR
24.UC Santa Barbara5-2-1NR
25.UNC Greensboro6-3-025
25.Creighton4-1-319

Dropped out: Washington (previously No. 15), Tula (No. 17), Pennsylvania (No. 18), Binghamton (No. 19), Clemson (No. 22), New Hampshire (No. 24), Georgetown (No. 25).

NSCAA / adidas Men's Regional Rankings
October 4, 2005
Great Lakes Region
TeamRecordLW
1.Akron9-0-01
2.Indiana5-1-32
3.Cincinnati6-2-23
4.Notre Dame6-3-14
5.Butler8-2-09
6.Michigan6-3-15
7.Ohio State6-4-16
8.Northwestern6-3-0NR
9.Dayton5-3-1NR
10.Detroit5-3-2NR

Dropped out: UW-Milwaukee (previously No. 7), Kentucky (No. 8), MichiganState (No. 10).

Midwest Region
TeamRecordLW
1.Missouri State7-0-21
2.Tulsa3-2-52
3.Creighton4-1-33
4.Northern Illinois7-2-15
5.Southern Methodist4-4-19
6.Bradley7-3-04
7.Vanderbilt5-4-07
8.Western Kentucky6-3-16
9.Memphis4-4-18
10.UIC4-3-1NR
10.Oral Roberts4-3-110

Dropped out: none.