Game #12
ART U Urban Knights (4-7, 3-4 PWC) vs. Grand Canyon Antelopes (9-3-1, 5-1-1 PWC)
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 8:00 PM PST
Phoenix, AZ – GCU Soccer Complex

Game #13
ART U Urban Knights (4-7, 3-4 PWC) vs. Grand Canyon Antelopes (9-3-1, 5-1-1 PWC)
Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 2:30 PM PST
Phoenix, AZ – GCU Soccer Complex

KNIGHTS LEAVE ON FINAL PACWEST ROADTRIP
Coming off a six-goal victory over Dominican which broke the Academy of Art University men's soccer program record for scoring, ART U heads to Arizona for a pair of matches against Grand Canyon. As the one Pacific West Conference team to have consistently remained on the NSCAA West Region poll, the Antelopes represent another important test for the Urban Knights. GCU narrowly escaped with a 1-0 victory when the teams met at the end of last season.

OPENING KICKOFF
A double dose of Grand Canyon begins with a match this Thursday, Oct. 20 at 8:00 PM. Two days later on Saturday, Oct. 22, the Knights and Antelopes tangle again at 2:30 PM. Both matches will follow the women's contests on their respective days and will be played at GCU Soccer Complex. Remember to check @UrbanKnightNews on Twitter for score updates and recaps. Also become a fan of the Knights on Facebook by 'Like'-ing the Urban Knights page.

KNIGHT WATCH
After becoming the eighth Urban Knight ever to score two goals in a single match on Saturday, sophomore forward Leonardo Bartelle now has three goals for the season. He sits behind junior forward Grimur Grimsson and freshman forward Frederik Nagel who each have four thus far and are tied for ninth in the PacWest. Sophomore midfielder Patrick Heinemann, who leads ART U in assists (4), has now moved up to rank fifth in the PacWest in that category. Junior goalkeeper Ian Sutherland continues to log victories for the Knights in goal and notched a career-high nine saves against Dominican most recently. He has now amassed 28 saves with 14 goals allowed and one shutout in over 620 minutes. The Honolulu, HI native ranks fourth in the PacWest in saves per game (4.00), seventh in goals against average (2.70), and eighth in save percentage (.667).

CONQUERING THE 'LOPES
Although Grand Canyon has the best overall record in the PacWest, the Antelopes currently occupy the fourth in the standings with a 5-1-1 conference record. GCU won its first two matches of the season before taking a 1-0 loss to Simon Fraser and then opening up PacWest play with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Dixie State. No conference team has defeated them since that time though BYU-Hawaii did tie Grand Canyon 1-1 on Sept. 26. A historic 9-0 victory over Hawaii-Hilo was among the October highlights while Seattle Pacific dealt the 'Lopes a 1-0 loss in non-conference action. A major reason for the Antelopes' success has been Saeed Robinson, the PacWest's leading scorer with 14 goals. He ranks 13th in all of NCAA Division II and has five game-winning goals to his name. Goalkeeper Adam Garcia has started all 13 matches for GCU thus far and ranks 8th in the nation in goals against average (0.62). He also has 38 saves with eight goals allowed in over 1,115 minutes.

THE CONFERENCE CHALLENGE
Head Coach Daniel Rosaia and the Academy of Art University men's soccer team play numerous elite teams in the PacWest Conference this season. Last season, the conference had three teams finish 10 or more conference victories including 2010 PacWest Champion Grand Canyon who was ranked #3 when the Knights faced them in the latter part of the year. As of the seventh NSCAA West Region poll, five different PacWest teams have been recognized at some point this year. GCU and Hawaii Pacific are currently among the top 10 with the Antelopes at #4 and the Sea Warriors sitting at #10.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
The Urban Knights played just one match this past week at Dominican, but it was one for the ages. After scoring in the first four minutes with a Heinemann-Cruz connection, ART U was just getting started. Heinemann assisted a goal by Bartelle in the 11th minute and in the 23rd minute, Heinemann struck again, this time unassisted. A 3-0 Academy of Art advantage held for only two minutes, however, because the Penguins responded with a goal of their own 25:20 into the match. Bartelle was back on the attack though, scoring unassisted in the 34th minute to strengthen the lead. To start the second half, sophomore forward Aron Ekberg netted a goal off a pass from sophomore midfielder Andrew Durano in the 58th minute, putting ART U up 5-1. A series of DUC goals came late in the match to make it closer than it was, but an unassisted score by freshman forward Davis Smith helped keep the Knights out in front. Academy of Art would win 6-4, topping the previous scoring record of five goals achieved last season.

LOOKING AHEAD
It is literally the home stretch for Academy of Art when the team returns from Arizona. With three of four matches inside Boxer Stadium to close out 2011, ART U continues PacWest play next with a pairing against BYU-Hawaii on Oct. 26 at 1:30 PM following the women's contest.