SAN FRANCISCO – An Academy of Art men's soccer goal just 12 minutes into the match set the tone in a non-conference battle with William Jessup, as ART U dominated play in the first half before ultimately cruising to a 3-0 shutout win on Thursday.

"We are pleased with today's performance, and of course the result," said ART U Head Coach Danny Kirkland. "It was important to continue building from the previous two games and we feel like we achieved that today."

Sophomore midfielder/forward Gilly Miller started the scoring for the Urban Knights (2-3-1) in the 12th minute when he dribbled to the top of the box from the left wing, firing a shot that beat the Warriors' (3-2-2) goalkeeper to his left for Miller's third goal of the season in six matches. The strike came on just the third shot of the match for Academy of Art, and they would go on to control the action with a total of 13 shots in the frame, six of which made it on target. One more of those first-half attempts created a score, as senior midfielder/forward Breki Einarsson produced a gorgeous header goal inside the box after a cross from the deep right wing by junior midfielder Kendryx Soriano in the 40th minute.

Dating back to last season, Miller has now scored a total of five goals over his previous 11 matches, producing a total of 15 points over that time (five assists). 

Though the Academy of Art offense slowed a bit in the second period as they played with the lead, the Knights still generated four attempts at the net with two making it on goal while adding a third insurance goal from the boot of redshirt freshman midfielder Elvis Mensah. It was a penalty kick conversion for Mensah, the first of his collegiate career, after the Knights were awarded the penalty spot opportunity when junior midfielder Christian Schaffner was taken down inside the box with a clear chance at the net.

Not going away quietly after three shots in the first frame, William Jessup took 10 shots of their own in the second half, but only two made it on target and were easily denied by Urban Knights senior goalkeeper Davis King. It was the second consecutive shutout for ART U led by King, as he has not allowed a goal in the previous 202 minutes of game action (five total saves over that span).

"We did a good job of creating goal scoring opportunities in control the majority of the game," Kirkland said. "It was important to keep another clean sheet and a collective team effort ensured we did just that. Now we must turn our focus to another tough test next week with Holy Names."

That chance against the Hawks will come on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. from Paul Goode Field, as it is the final tuneup before Pacific West Conference play begins.