By Wayne Otto–

The Butler University Bulldogs and the University of Louisville Cardinals made for a great Saturday night matchup in Cardinal Park. Although the Cardinals’ men’s soccer team is looking ahead to the future of their soccer program, they still have opponents to beat and a season to play. The Butler Bulldogs came to Cardinal Park on Sept. 17 looking to hand the Cardinals their second loss of the season, but the Cards’ experience and hard work on the field would win out and lead to a 4-0 win over the Bulldogs.

The scoring was well distributed throughout the game, with the Cardinals scoring two goals in the first half and two in the second half. Louisville played smart, which is a key characteristic any team must have to be great on the collegiate level. The first of the four goals was a terrific header by senior forward Mark Knight. The second goal on the night, from junior midfielder Michael Roman, was a straight bullet of a shot hit after a great pass from freshman midfielder Will Vitalis.

Coming out for the second half, Louisville looked just as strong. The third goal of the night by the Cardinals was off a header ten yards out from a cross pass delivered from the right side of the pitch. Buck Tuffy, the junior forward, celebrated after the impressive looking goal with a chicken dance. Using the energy and motivation from their first three strikes, the Cardinals again scored for the fourth and final time of the night. Junior defender Chase Rodgers had this goal that came by chance after Butler deflected a header, and Rodgers struck the ball in the net with a header of his own.

From then on it seemed to be smooth sailing for the Cardinals, their ability to get possession of the ball quickly and keep it made for a good win. The Cardinals were defensively strong all throughout the game, allowing Butler only three shots on goal. Butler on the other hand gave Louisville twelve shots on goal. Butler put up a good defensive stand, but the Cardinals were flying all over the field the whole night. Coach Ken Lolla had some words that backed up the great performance, saying, “…the big difference for us was our guys coming off the bench.”

Coach Lolla went on to say of the Butler Bulldogs, “They are a young team and I thought our pressure rattled them, especially in the first half.”

Senior goal keeper, Andre Boudreaux, had some words about the games ahead on the schedule for the Cards. He said, “We have a couple of good games coming up and we are looking forward to them.”

The Cards will face the Buckeyes of Ohio State University next as they travel to Columbus, Ohio on Sept.21.

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Photo: Erin Standridge/The Louisville Cardinal