SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art men's soccer (0-3-1) faced off with Cal State Monterey Bay (2-1) on Monday, looking to bounce back after Saturday's loss to SF State. It was a defensive struggle for the ages, but the Urban Knights could not push one through, falling on the wrong side of a 1-0 score.
 
In the first half, ART U was dominant on both sides of the ball. The Knights posted eight shots, three of which came off the foot of junior midfielder Justin Erhunmwunsee and two from junior forward Alex Walsh. To complement their offense, Art U's backline played stingy defense, only allowing the Otters to get off two shots.
 
The second half showed more life from CSUMB as they compiled five times their first half shot total (10). However, it wasn't until the closing minutes that the Otters put the deciding goal in the back of the net. Through the scrum in the Urban Knights' box, Israel Ayala was able to send a shot steaming towards the far corner. A sliding attempt to block the goal by an ART U defender proved fruitless as it ricocheted and found its way into the net. Having scored in the 87th minute, it was not enough time for the Urban Knights to respond despite a drive downfield in the closing seconds.
 
"I'm really excited about the performance from the guys today," said head coach Mike Keller. Monterey is a tough opponent and I thought we did really well to control the tempo and had a great first half. The team showed a lot of resiliency having played three games in five days."
 
Academy of Art will continue their homestand on Friday when their final non-conference opponent comes to town in the form of Concordia (Ore.).