SAN FRANCISCO – A pair of goals including a career-first for freshman forward Alyssa Rasmussen were the highlights in Saturday's dominant, 2-0 win for Academy of Art over Holy Names. Beyond the frills of the two goals-scored, the Urban Knights posted a strong showing on both sides of the ball throughout the entirety of the match.
 
In the first half, ART U staved off an early offensive-surge from the Hawks, denying four shots in the opening 13 minutes of play. However, from that point forward, the Knights shut down HNU's attack, only allowing two more shots in the period. ART U's offense took over from there as well, as senior midfielder Abigail Chavez was fed a beautiful lobbed-pass from senior defender Aliya Salas from just beyond midfield who headed it in over the goalkeeper. The goal in the 27th-minute was the second of the season for Chavez and it gave Academy of Art a 1-0 lead.
 
Opening the second half, the Urban Knights' momentum did not subside. Less than 10 minutes in, freshman midfielder Sydney Cooke tore up the right sideline, beating every defender in her path. As she approached the goal, the Lake Tapps, Wash. native perfectly-timed a cross to the center of the goalie box. There, Rasmussen was lying in wait to score the first goal of her collegiate-career. For the remainder of the match, ART U's defensive-prowess was in the spotlight as the backline withstood a total of 11 HNU shots in the second half alone. Junior goalkeeper Morgan Wirz was solid in front of the net, making several critical stops and collecting a total of eight saves. The Graphic Design major has now accumulated 20 saves in the just the past two matches.

 
All in all, Academy of Art compiled nine shots, including an efficient, six on-goal. Both Chavez and Cooke led the team with two shots apiece while five other Urban Knights landed an attempt in the match. With the win, ART U improves to 1-11-1 overall and 1-7 in the PacWest.
 
Next up for Academy of Art, the Urban Knights will head to Southern California next week where they will play a pair of PacWest heavy-weights, including first-place California Baptist and fourth-place Azusa Pacific.