Men's Soccer Tournament Seeds Up for Grabs

INDIANAPOLIS -- One of six Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament seed has been decided.  The other five are up in the air as the final weekend of conference takes gets underway on Friday evening.

What is known is simple: No. 6 Butler (15-0-1, 7-0-0 Horizon) has claimed the outright League championship and will host the semifinals and finals of the Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament, Nov. 12-14.  The Bulldogs will host Cleveland State (8-9-0, 4-3-0 Horizon) at 10 a.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 7, on Senior Day.

The Vikings, who knocked off then-No. 1 Akron on Cleveland State's senior day, will be looking for their second straight win over an unbeaten opponent when they come to the Butler Bowl.  At the moment, the Vikings are in a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings, and a victory would go a long way towards ensuring a home match in the conference tournament.

A win could also vault Cleveland State into second place in the conference standings and a bye in the opening round.  The Vikings own the tiebreaker with Green Bay (11-4-1, 5-2-0 Horizon), based on their 3-1 win over the Phoenix on Oct. 1.

For Green Bay, the options are simple: with a win or a tie, the Phoenix claim the second seed in the League tournament and a bye into the semifinals.  Winners of seven straight matches, the Phoenix host a Wright State (4-11-1, 0-6-1 Horizon) squad that is looking for its first win since Sept. 11.  Hosting the Raiders at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, Green Bay will honor its senior class prior to the match.

Detroit (7-7-2, 4-3-0 Horizon) presently sits tied with Cleveland State and Milwaukee (6-8-2, 4-4-0 Horizon).  With the Panthers having completed their conference schedule, the Titans will look to pass Milwaukee when they travel to Valparaiso (7-8-2, 1-6-0 Horizon) for an 8 p.m. ET match on Saturday.

The Titans own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vikings and Panthers should they finish tied with either team in the conference standings.

The final match of the League season features a winner-take-all match between Chicago rivals Loyola (3-10-2, 3-3-1 Horizon) and UIC (7-9-0, 3-4-0 Horizon).  The Ramblers are sitting on 10 points in conference play, good for sixth in the Horizon League; the Flames trail by a single point, leaving the winner in the tournament and the loser done with their season.

The match begins at 8 p.m. ET at Flames Field.

The complete Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament bracket will be posted following the conclusion of the last match on Saturday night.