Match #7
ART U Urban Knights (2-3-1) vs. HNU Hawks (1-1-3)
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Paul Goode Field
Live Stats & Live Video

FINAL TUNE-UP
Familiar foes meet once again, this time in non-conference action, as Academy of Art men's soccer matches up with Holy Names for the first time in 2022 in the final tune-up prior to Pacific West Conference play beginning next week. 

KICKOFF
The only match of the week will be an afternoon matinee, with a 1 p.m. kick off time set on Wednesday between the Urban Knights and the Hawks. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. 

KNIGHT WATCH
After a slow start to the season, Academy of Art men's soccer has picked up the pace in recent matches, going 2-0-1 in their previous three times on the pitch. The stretch started with a 2-2 draw against Cal State East Bay on Sept. 10 where are the Urban Knights twice pulled in front but were unable to retain the lead, and has continued with a consecutive pair of clean sheets with a 2-0 victory over Cal poly Humboldt on Sept. 12 before handing NAIA opponent William Jessup a 3-0 defeat on Sept. 15.

Junior midfielder Gilly Miller has been instrumental in the offense, as the team's leader in points (eight; three goals and two assists) struck for goals against the Pioneers and the Warriors while also recording assists in the battle with CSUEB and the Jacks. His tally against William Jessup would be the most important despite being the first goal scored, netting the game winner on a shot to the left post in just the 12th minute after he dribbled his way to the top of the box from the left side. It has been quite the stretch for Miller dating back to last season, as the forward has now scored a total of five goals over his previous 11 matches, producing a total of 15 points over that time (five assists). 

Also crucial to the undefeated week for the Urban Knights was senior midfielder Breki Einarsson, as the Iceland native collected his first points of the 2022 campaign with a helper against Cal Poly Humboldt when he sent a quick pass in the box to senior midfielder William Mychaltchouk, who powerfully launched a ball across the front of the goal to the back post for the score. Against William Jessup he found the back of the net in the 40th minute thanks to a gorgeous header goal inside the box after a cross from the deep right wing by junior midfielder Kendryx Soriano. 

Helping the Urban Knights post consecutive shutouts was senior goalkeeper Davis King, as he has made two saves in each of his previous four matches. Over the course of the campaign, he has made 15 saves on a total 72 shots faced, but has been lights out more recently as he has not allowed a goal in the previous 202 minutes of game action going back to the match against the Pioneers (five total saves over that span). His best outing came in the season opener Cal State Dominguez Hills, totaling four saves on 13 shots faced. 

As a unit, ART U has generated a total of 69 shot attempts with 30 making their way on goal (43.5 percent), leading to an average of 11.5 shots per game and 1.33 goals per game. The Knights are coming off of single game-highs in both shots and shots on goal, as they fired 17 attempts against William Jessup with eight finding the target. Miller paces ART U in both shots (17) and shots on goal (nine), though 15 more Urban Knights have all taken at least one attempt at the net, 10 of which put their chances on goal. 

HAWK TALK
Starting the year with three consecutive draws, Holy Names finally found the win column with a 2-0 shutout over Cal State East Bay, but then immediately took their first loss of the campaign the most recent time on the pitch in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chico State. HNU generates an average of 9.0 shots per game with a total of 45 attempts on the year, what has only scored a total of six goals leading to an average of 1.20 per match. Of their 45 shot attempts, only 22 have made it on target (48.9 percent). A pair of Hawks have two goals each in Gabriel Ventura and Elio Corral, but an assist for Ventura gives him the team lead in points with five. Despite his total, Erik Arias has taken the most shot attempts on the squad with 12, five of which were on goal which is also a team best. A Holy Names win last time out has drawn the two sides level in the all-time series, 5-5-3, with the previous three matchups split evenly, 1-1-1.

ACADEMY OF ART MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW WITH 3-0 SHUTOUT WIN
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 shut out win on Thursday.

LOOKING AHEAD
PacWest play has finally arrived, with the Urban Knights heading to the Hawaiian Islands for a trio of matches in six days against Hawaii Pacific, Chaminade and UH Hilo beginning on Sept. 26.