Box Score
San Francisco, CA - The Academy of Art University women's soccer team hosted Grand Canyon University on Thursday afternoon. Due to weather precautions, the game was played at a neutral site on Treasure Island. The Urban Knights didn't let that stand in their way, and they came out with a lot of energy from the start of the game. The Knights were up against one of the toughest offensive teams in the PacWest, and they felt the pressure. Unfortunately, the Knights' defense couldn't hold off the 'Lopes for the entire game, and ART U fell to Grand Canyon with a score of 0-4.
"The team worked really hard defensively against the #2 team in the PacWest," said Head Coach Aileen Nasypany. "We played better than the first time we matched up early in the season, improving from a 6-1 loss."
Despite the high energy level the Knights came out with, they were unable to stop the powerful offense of the 'Lopes. Grand Canyon scored what would turn out to be the game winning goal in the 7th minute of play. The Knights then held the 'Lopes for a while, but GCU managed to score on more goal before heading into halftime.
The Urban Knights had a few opportunities to score in the game, especially off their two corner kicks. But unfortunately they were not able to capitalize on those opportunities, and remained scoreless throughout the match. The Urban Knights' defense kept them in the game, but without the help of their offense they could not overcome the early game deficit and ultimately came up short at the end of play. "In a game like this, the offensive line needs to pull their weight, get us some more shots and finish on our opportunities," added Nasypany.
Sophomore keeper Hana Klimek had another tremendous game for the Urban Knights. She posted three saves in the first half and six in the second half, for a total of nine saves on the day. Although she did well leading the team from the net, she receives the loss in the game. Emi Sullivan had the lone shot on the day for her team, and it missed just wide of the goal.
"Hana has stepped up as a true leader in the net for us," said Coach Nasypany. "She has come to training with intense focus and desire to be a game-changer on match days. Hana's communication is instrumental in keeping the back line organized and her ability to come up with big saves at key points in the game has been giving the team confidence to stay in the match and keep battling."
For the 'Lopes, Fiona Maloney did well with five shots on goal, and two goals in the game. Rebecca Laporte also helped her team with two shots on goal and one goal, and Michelle Carels recorded four shots on goal, one goal, and one assist on the day.
After the loss, the Academy of Art University's record falls to 2-10-3 overall and 1-9-1 in conference, while Grand Canyon University's record is at 9-4-1 overall and 7-3-1 in conference. The Knights get little rest before their next game. They head to San Rafael, CA to face Dominican University on October 30th. Game time is set for 2:30pm.
