Men's Soccer

MVC Men's Soccer Weekly Notebook (Oct. 21)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its men's soccer weekly honors on Tuesday. Evansville's Andres Escudero was named the MVC Player of the Week and Drake's Tomas Butkovic was tabbed the MVC Defensive Player of the Week. 

Conference News & Notes
  • Drake is one of just five men’s soccer programs in Division I to remain undefeated this season, sitting at 6-0-6 on the year.
  • The Bulldogs are No. 54 in the latest RPI report, and are joined by UIC (81), Evansville (85) and Belmont (86) inside the Top 90.
  • Evansville remains atop The Valley standings with a 2-0-2 ledger and eight points. Drake, UIC and Northern Illinois are all tied with a 1-0-3 record in league play and six points apiece. 
  • As a team, the Flames are fifth nationally in scoring offense (2.54) and points (106) while ranking sixth in total goals (33) and assists (40). 
  • Drake’s 2-0 shutout of Bowling Green marked its seventh clean sheet of the year as the Bulldogs rank in the top 10 in Division I in goals against average (.583) and in the top 25 in save percentage (.811).
  • Western Michigan earned its first win in league play, besting Bradley, 3-2. Three different Broncos scored, as Roni Sylejmani netted what proved to be the game-winner in the 66th minute of the match. 
  • Northern Illinois played to a 2-2 draw with Belmont to remain undefeated in MVC action. The Huskies enter this week on a five-match unbeaten streak - their longest since piecing together a 13-match unbeaten streak in 2021.
  • UIC’s Edouard Nys is first in the country in points (33) and second in goals (14). He’s the only player in The Valley with double-figure goals and more than 20 points this season.
  • Bradley’s Drew Berry is second in Division I with 73 total saves. He is averaging the 12th-most saves per match (5.21).
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andres Escudero, Evansville, Fr., Forward - San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain (IES Joan Miro)
Evansville’s Andres Escudero notched his third brace of the season in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at UIC. He scored the equalizing goal in the 85th minute to help the Purple Aces remain atop the MVC standings. The brace marked his third of the season, making him one of two freshmen in the country with three braces this season and the first Evansville rookie with three braces in a season since 2022. Additionally, he became one of 12 players in the country this season with at least two goals in three different outings. Escudero ranks second in The Valley with eight goals and is third among freshmen nationally in the category.
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tomas Butkovic, Drake, So., Goalkeeper - Wollongong, Australia (Figtree HS)
Drake’s Tomas Butkovic had another impressive outing for the Bulldogs as Drake earned a 2-0 home win over Bowling Green. The Falcons fired off 10 total shots but Butkovic was nails in goal making three saves to keep Bowling Green off the board. Butkovic is now the only goalkeeper in the Missouri Valley Conference with six or more shutouts on the season. He has not surrendered a score in nearly a month with his last goal allowed coming vs. NIU on Sep. 27.