Match #13
ART U Urban Knights (2-9-1, 1-6-1 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (7-5, 3-5 PWC)
Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 12:30 PM
San Rafael, CA – Kennelly Field
Live Stats

Match #14
ART U Urban Knights (2-9-1, 1-6-1 PWC) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (8-4, 6-3 PWC)
Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 5:00 PM
Fresno, CA – Ramirez Field
Live Stats

ART U COMPLETES FOUR-PART ROAD STRETCH ON SATURDAY
With a three-match roadtrip to Hawaii on the horizon at the end of October, the Urban Knights play two of three final matches against California opponents this week. Thursday features a rematch with Dominican, who edged Academy of Art University 2-1 earlier this season, while Saturday marks the first meeting between ART U and new Pacific West Conference member Fresno Pacific.

OPENING KICKOFF
ART U heads to Dominican's new Kennelly Field this Thursday, Oct. 18 for a 12:30pm kickoff against the Penguins. Then, on Saturday, Oct. 20, the Urban Knights head out on a lengthier trip to Fresno for their pairing with FPU at Ramirez Field with kickoff set for 5:00 PM. Live Stats will be available (see above). Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
The first goal of the season came for sophomore Thorvaldur Sveinsson this past week in a tough environment at California Baptist. After senior Grimur Grimsson provided the assist, Sveinsson became the 14th ART U player to be involved in one of the 13 goals by the Knights this year. Grimsson tightened his grip on the most career points as he now has 32 to go with 14 goals (also a program record). Tied for the second-most assists in a single season by an Academy of Art player, junior Aron Ekberg offers five assists in total this year. Senior goalkeeper Ian Sutherland looks to eclipse his own single-season saves mark as he currently has 60 (28th in the country) and needs just three more to become second all-time.

PENGUINS FALLING IN PACWEST PECKING ORDER
Stuck in a tailspin since the Urban Knights last met them, the Penguins have lost four consecutive matches heading into Thursday. Dominican had previously won seven of eight contests which culminated with a 2-1 victory over Academy of Art at Crocker Amazon Park, but since that time, the opposition has been particularly tough. Fresno Pacific defeated the Penguins twice by scores of 4-1 and 6-0, Notre Dame de Namur edged them 2-1 with a second half goal, and most recently #13 Grand Canyon put away Dominican 2-0 on Oct. 13. The stretch has taken Dominican from among the PacWest leaders to the middle of the pack with now six matches left in 2012. Offensively, the Penguins are still led by the young man with the conference's second-most goals scored in Pedro Guevara. His nine scores along with three assists give him a total of 21 points which ranks seventh in the PacWest. In goal, Erik Anderson has posted two shutouts in 12 starts with 78 saves and 22 goals allowed. Dominican still holds a 5-2 lead in its all-time history with ART U.

HERE COMES THE SUN…BIRDS
As one of four new institutions to join the PacWest Conference this season, Fresno Pacific has certainly shown it can hold its own. The Sunbirds had a challenging start to conference play after going 2-1 in non-conference action with victories over Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State San Marcos. Since falling to California Baptist 4-2 and #13 Grand Canyon 4-0, FPU has been on a tear, winning six of seven matches with a mind-boggling average of nearly six goals per game. The Sunbirds won three of four in Hawaii with a 3-2 loss to Hawaii Pacific the only blemish and, since returning to California, they topped Dominican twice (see above) and Holy Names 8-0. With 12 goals scored thus far, Paul Islas is the PacWest's leading scorer and the only player in the conference to be averaging over one per game (1.20). And for all the offense, a tandem of Fresno Pacific goalies have gotten it done as Fabian Rangel and Steven Waite have split time, but have five shutouts to their collective names. FPU will face former Golden State Athletic Conference rival Azusa Pacific on Oct. 18 prior to hosting the Urban Knights. This will be the first meeting of ART U and the Sunbirds.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
Up against the team that won the Pacific West Conference title last season in California Baptist, Academy of Art University men's soccer simply ran out of time on its comeback, falling 3-1 on Oct. 13 at Lancer Soccer Field. This was the Urban Knights second trip to Southern California this season and, though CBU played tough on its home field, Sveinsson scored on a rebound shot late to help fend off the possibility of a shutout.

LOOKING AHEAD
With the conclusion of this week's matches, ART U will host its 2012 Senior Day on Friday, Oct. 26 out at Crocker Amazon Park. Three Urban Knights seniors, Brazer Bozlak, Grimur Grimsson, and Ian Sutherland, will each be honored prior to the contest. SIGN UP for the FAN BUS at FAN BUS CENTRAL.