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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI men's soccer team will continue a grueling opening to the 2016 season on Tuesday night (Aug. 30) when the Jaguars square off with crosstown rival Butler at 7:00 p.m. at the Butler Bowl. Tuesday's match is the second of six straight road matches to open the season, half of which come against high-major foes. 

Head Coach Brian Barnett's squad opened the year with a 4-0 defeat at Bowling Green on Friday (Aug. 26), but the Jaguars' first-year mentor took plenty of positives away from the regular season opener. 

"From our perspective, I have to continue to evaluate things in the sense that, are we making improvements from the last time out?" Barnett said. "The answer to that was absolutely yes. We challenged our guys at halftime and they came out and responded in the second half."

"Our defending was better in the second half. We challenged the guys to respond at halftime and they did. I would like to see us sort through things a little more before halftime without having to be coached on it, but we'll get there over time."

IUPUI (0-1) saw BGSU jump out to a 3-0 halftime advantage against sophomore goalie Josh Gray before adding second half insurance. The Jags best offensive chance came when senior Cristian Soto had a shot rip off the crossbar in the closing seconds of the first half. Soto was one of three Jags to attempt a team-high three shots in the opener and was joined by Ben Thornton and Uriel Macias in that contest. 

IUPUI is just 2-11-3 all-time against Butler and 2-9-3 in the program's Division I-era. The Jags last defeated the Bulldogs on Oct. 4, 2011 when they blew past Butler, 3-0 at Kuntz Stadium. Last season, Butler won 3-2 in overtime at Carroll Stadium with a goal in the 93rd minute. 

Soto is the lone IUPUI holdover to have registered a point in that match, assisting on the Jaguars' first goal in the 40th minute. Then-senior Clint Hoffar tied the match with a penalty kick in the 72nd minute. 

"Two big schools from the same city is always a great matchup," Soto said. "IUPUI versus Butler is a big rivalry game and the intensity from the start of the game to the end of the game is always high. Most importantly, this game is about who comes out on top. With our team with new faces and new coaches, I'm confident in our team and our coaching staff to get a result at the Butler Bowl and claim the bragging rights of being the top-end school of Indianapolis."

Butler earned a draw in its season opener, playing Louisville to a scoreless tie this past weekend.