Geneva Men's Soccer Goalkeeper Goes Professional - Geneva College
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Geneva Men's Soccer Goalkeeper Goes Professional

Bryan Butler

bryan butler

Beaver Falls, PA - On Monday March 30, 2015, Geneva men’s soccer senior goalkeeper, Bryan Butler (Millersville, MD/Annapolis Christian) will not be studying for exams in Beaver County but instead will be stepping onto the Evergreen Diplomat’s field, the PG Sports & Learning Complex in Bowie Maryland.

The four year starter who protected the Golden Tornadoes net and helped lead Geneva to be a 2011 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Finalist in Florida his freshman year (2011)and reach its team ranking of seventh among the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Great Lake Region the same year. He was also named the 2012 NCAA East Regional Finalists, and earn the right to make post-season appearances in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference all four years during Butler’s career at Geneva College (2011-2014).

Butler explained how the opportunity presented itself, “My coaches back home that I had trained with and work for (Naval Academy) knew some Diplomat coaches. Tryouts were in November, January, and March. Once I passed the second trial I organized with my professors how to graduate early.”

Butler completed his finals on Thursday, March 26, 2015 graduating with a degree in Sports Management from Geneva College.

“All my professors were very understanding. They said, ‘you have to go’ which was nice on their part.”

Following Butler’s professional career as a Diplomat will be easy for the campus as the organization has social media accounts including Twitter and Facebook in addition to their website. Butler emphasized, “they tweet a ton.”

“I am very blessed to be where I am today. I couldn’t be here today without the support of family and coaches. Thanks to all of them I am ready to take this next step including the Diplomat coaches for the opportunity.”

“Coach (Gary) Dunda and Coach Mike (Bair) prepared me to be the best I could be in every area. I was happy they were always on me about the little things. It prepared me for this level on competition.”

Head Coach Gary Dunda shared, “I am extremely proud of Bryan for his dedication to the game of soccer and his passion to be a great goalkeeper. It has been a privilege to have spent the last four years as his college soccer coach, and now I am his biggest fan.  Everyone associated with the Geneva Men’s Soccer Team is very happy for Bryan and we all wish him the best.”

Butler says, “My plan is to keep playing as long as I am able to and them I will probably end up coaching at some point.”

The Evergreen Diplomats season opens April 5, 2015 at 6 p.m. hosting Icon FC from northern New Jersey.

 Geneva College invites students to step forward and leap ahead with an academically excellent, Christ-centered and affordable education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and campus-based options, and high-demand advanced graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top 10 Best Value with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world.

 

Mar 27, 2015