FRESNO, CALIF. – It was a back-and-forth battle between Academy of Art men's soccer (2-10-1, 2-6-0 PacWest) and Fresno Pacific (5-6-2, 4-3-1 PacWest) on Wednesday, but the Sunbirds prevailed after six combined goals to defeat the Urban Knights 4-2.
 
In the first half, the two teams collided for 20 minutes before FPU put the first notch on the scoreboard. In a one-on-one play, Eric Sanchez was able to shake an ART U defender to take an open shot from the top right corner of the box, giving the Sunbirds a 1-0 lead. Looking to find an equalizer, the Urban Knights got off a pair of shots while defending two themselves as well as four corner kicks before FPU was able to make it 2-0 with a goal in the 42nd-minute. Determined to show Fresno Pacific that they would not go away quietly, Academy of Art made a quick response. In the final minute before halftime, freshman midfielder Isiah Quiros forced a turnover at the top of the box and got off a shot which did not miss its mark. The goal trimmed ART U's deficit to 2-1 and marked Quiros' second score of the season.
 
In the second period, the Sunbirds quickly added another goal to their total as Dylan Rusconi made it 3-1 just four minutes in. Despite the deficit, the Urban Knights continued to apply the pressure, taking three shots within the next six minutes before their fourth attempt of the half found the back of the net in the 61st-minute. Junior midfielder Dominic Payerchin scored a long goal from the top of the box and crossed the ball to the left side of the net to score in the corner. With the score now at 3-2, ART U looked to tie things up, but Fresno Pacific had different plans, adding another goal to make it 4-2 in the 75th-minute.
 
Overall, the Urban Knights had an impressive showing against an FPU team which ranked 14th in the nation entering the 2016 season. With 12 shots in both Wednesday's contest and Sunday's against Dominican, it is the first time ART U has posted 12 or more shots in back-to-back contests since getting off 23 and 15 against Concordia and California Baptist in 2015's final two matches respectively. Junior midfielder Justin Erhunmwunsee led ART U in the shot category with four (one on goal) and junior forward Alex Walsh was just behind, getting off three of his own (one on goal). Furthermore, Academy of Art showed their strength of depth against Fresno Pacific as both of their goals came from the bench. The last time all of the Urban Knights' scoring was credited to soley bench players was September 5, 2015 when Walsh and Nick Santhiago each scored to give ART U a 2-1 win over Cal State East Bay. The last occurence in conference play was when Kristof Urbanyi came off the bench to score in a 4-1 loss to Hawaii Pacific on September 25, 2014.
 
"FPU is definitely tough to play at home," said head coach Mike Keller. "It was a good game for the guys in that we created many opportunities to score and we hit the post early in the game. Overall, things went well, but we have a lot to learn from and we will be sure to make adjustments."
 
Academy of Art will now return to San Francisco where they will prepare for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Dixie State.