SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art emerged victorious against Saint Katherine on Tuesday morning at Paul Goode Field by a score of 1-0 behind senior forward Andrew Deans first goal of the season and a shutout performance by sophomore goalkeeper Davis King.

"Stats are not everything and at the end of the day it's the final score - 1-0 that matters most," said head coach Matt Martin. "But I see hundreds of decisions and dozens of big moments and we won most of those. 17 to six in shots, eight to two on frame - plus we miss a sitter and a couple other half chances, so we leave with a needed win and an opportunity to be more clinical around goal and get where we want to be."

It was sophomore forward Fannar Omarsson who had the first opportunity on goal, in the ninth minute, when he beat the keeper to a ball and chipped it over his head. The ball was headed into the goal, but before it could cross the goalline a USK defender intercepted it and made a save.  

After a slew of opportunities throughout the match, ART U finally found the back of the net in the 75th minute. Sophomore midfielder Breki Einarsson received a pass on the far left side of the field, a couple yards outside the penalty box. Einarsson played in a nice ball that made its way past two Firebird defenders directly to Deans at the top of the goal box. Deans controlled the ball on his knee then volleyed in a left footed shot to the left corner of the net for a 1-0 ART U lead. 

10 minutes later in the 85th minute, King saved the match. USK moved down the field on a breakaway and put a cross on the ground to the top left side of the goal box. A wide open Firebird attacker tapped a shot to the left side of the net, but King beat the ball there and made a sensational save. But the threat was not over. The ball deflected to a USK attacker on the save and it looked as if the Firebirds would have an open shot on net, but sophomore midfielder Edvard Edvarsson won the ball and cleared it to neutralize the threat. 

The Urban Knights almost ended the game on a goal when in the final minute junior forward Adrian Cekala found himself one-on-one with the USK goalkeeper on a fast break made possible by an exceptional through ball by Omarsson. Cekala hit a right foot to the right side of the net, but the keeper made a solid stop to keep the score at 1-0. The final whistle blew not long after and the Urban Knights came away with a hard earned, triumphant, 1-0 victory. 

ART U registered a season-high 17 shots in the 1-0 win, including eight on goal, and were awarded nine corner kicks compared to the Firebirds one. King notched his second shutout of the season while Einarsson recorded his first assist to tie Cekala for the ART U points lead.

After the 1-0 win, Academy of Art improves to 1-10-1 overall. The Urban Knights will look to carry momentum into PacWest play, when they take on Fresno Pacific on Nov. 2 which is also senior day.