Box Score

San Francisco, CA -- The Academy of Art University women's soccer team opened the PacWest conference slate against the reigning champs, and in an encouraging display, hung right with California Baptist University before falling 2-1 on Thursday at Crocker-Amazon Park. The Urban Knights got another long goal from Lou Fillingham to go ahead, but the Lancers equalized and later went ahead to start off the conference schedule by handing the Knights a loss.

Academy of Art (1-4, 0-1 PWC) went right on the attack, and for the second time this year, Fillingham, the junior from Ormskirk, England, showed that she's got a big boot, taking a free kick in the 20th minute from right in front of the scorers table and watching it sail over the goalkeeper and into the net to give ART U a 1-0 lead.

But the Lancers (2-3, 1-0 PWC) went to a reliable source to mount their comeback. In the 38th minute, Kimberly Allard found Preseason PacWest Player of the Year Bernadette Witz and led her into a one-on-one with Rachael Rempe in goal, eventually slotting it to the far post to equalize. Witz would see another feed from Allard to score the eventual game-winner in the second half, as Allard had a shot off the post trickle right back out to Witz, who tapped it in at 55:02 to put the Lancers ahead.

The Knights got a couple late chances, totaling three shots in the second half, but allowed a season-high 10 corner kicks and did well to hold the Lancers to the pair of goals. The goals were Witz's second and third for CBU, as Allard added a pair of assists to give her four on the year. Fillingham now has two goals, with a combined yardage on them of about 85 yards between Thursday's goal and her first goal of the year against Saint Martin's.

Academy of Art will be back in action against Azusa Pacific on Saturday at City College of San Francisco.